Nicole and Kathleen: The Unexpected
by Angelic Prophecy
Summary: After receiving the possibility of joining the National Treasure world once and for all, Nicole and Kathleen are settling into what could be their new home. And with such perfect relationships and new-found fame, what could go wrong? More than you think!
1. Positive

**Yay, I'm back. You just can't get of me for long, can you? –wink-**

**Well, I had a vote on my profile concerning the writing of this story, and it was obviously given the go ahead! Thanks so much to all my readers who voted! (Whether you voted yes or no.) I'm just so excited for this story, because I've been planning out the plot of it for a long time. Ha-ha, I plan way too far ahead. **

**This will feature the PoVs of Nicole and Kathleen, plus one new PoV that hasn't been included in my prior stories. I'm hoping to include it in the next chapter. **

**And a big thanks to all of you who read Nicole and Kathleen 2! I received over 200 reviews, and I just wanted to give you all a big hug for supporting me and helping me out. –love-**

**Well, you're to read, so go ahead and do just that! Enjoy! :)**

**-Michelle**

**(DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in here that you recognize except the OCs. All else is property of Disney or their respective companies. )**

**-+-+-+-+-**

"Kathleen, are you OK?"

I sighed, glancing up at the bathroom door in annoyance. "Yes." I called out. Okay, this was sort of a lie, but I didn't need her to know that I was actually flushing away what had once been my dinner. I shuddered. Trust me when I say that throwing up is not the most pleasant way to begin one's morning.

I heard the door handle turning and clicking, signaling Nicole's unsuccessful attempts to burst into the bathroom and check up on me, like she would do back home where I couldn't lock the door.

"It's locked." I sang out, and I could practically see her scowling on the other side of the door. I walked over to the sink, quickly rinsing the acidic taste from my mouth. I rolled my eyes, opening the door to stop Nicole's insistent banging on it. She stepped – well, more like fell – into the room, brushing some light brown hair out of her eyes as she glared at me, hands on her hips.

"Why'd you lock me out?!"

I shrugged, as I was in the process of brushing my teeth. She sighed, her eyebrows furrowing together like they did when she was worried. This was surprising to me, since she hardly ever worried about anything.

"What's the matter with you? You've been doing this for almost a week now, and I wanna know what's up." She paused for a second, and then continued talking. "I mean, you keep throwing up and you've been kind of… off. Do you have the flu or something?"

"Nope." I put away my toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. "I'm not sick. I keep telling you that."

"Then why do you keep-"

"I don't know!" I cried out, frustrated with her persistence. She walked into the bedroom, pacing and muttering things to herself that I couldn't hear. I ran the hairbrush through my hair, thinking through the possibilities.

Maybe I _was_ sick. Or maybe I'd eaten something that had spoiled and I had food poisoning. Or maybe I was –

'_No.'_

No, it wasn't that. Was it?

I slowly looked up at my reflection in the mirror, my ice blue eyes staring back at me, questioning, wondering about what I'd tried 5 days ago. I suddenly felt sick again just thinking about it. It wasn't a possibility. It just couldn't be. I was _sure _that it wasn't possible.

Apparently the same thought had crossed Nicole's mind at about the same time. She abruptly stopped pacing, peering tentatively into the bathroom. "Kathleen?" Her voice was soft, and it scared me a little.

"What?"

"Have you been…?" She paused, looking slightly uncomfortable, before blurting out the rest of the sentence. "Have you been _late_ this month?"

The bluntness of the question hit me like a truck. I stared at myself in the mirror, stunned. I knew exactly what she was referring to. And I panicked, because I knew the answer.

'_Yes.'_

"N-No!" I stepped out into my bedroom, my voice the exact opposite of how I wanted it to sound. "No, don't you even _think_ that! It's not even possib-"

"Yes, it is!" She fired back. "It all fits, it explains everything! You know that as well as I do!"

I shook my head vigorously, my throat growing thick.

"No, no, you can't be saying that I…" I swallowed, my face toughening up again. "I'm not… You can't be saying that I'm… That I'm _pregnant_!" I threw my hands up, stalking towards the door. I couldn't stand to hear any more of it.

She winced slightly at the word. "How… How can you be so sure, Kathleen?"

I stopped in my tracks. I'd been expecting that question from her. Feeling the color drain from my face, I sighed, biting my lip and closing my eyes before answering faintly. "I… I've already checked."

I heard a sharp gasp behind me, and turned around to see Nicole looking at me, her face softening. "You… You thought you were pregnant? When? Why didn't you say anything?"

I sighed. I'd been expecting a response like that. I sat down on the bed, drawing my legs to my chest. "A-About a week ago. I went to the drugstore, took the test, had the most nerve-wracking 5 minutes of my life, and…"

"And…?" She prompted.

"It was negative."

"Oh." She sat down next to me on the bed. "Did you tell Riley about it?"

"No, I-I couldn't. I mean, he'd probably freak out or something. And besides, he's been so busy working on his book and everything after Cibola. I mean, we all have, really. I don't think…" I frowned, trying to get the wording right. "I mean, a baby… That's probably the last thing we need."

"You could be right. But…"She paused. "Maybe you should try again?"

"No!" I cried out, jumping to my feet. "I…I…" I fell back on to the bed, thinking through it over and over. Then I finally decided that I couldn't hurt. It would come out negative, just like last time. Nothing to be afraid of.

"OK, fine. One more time. But I won't be, trust me."

Nicole shrugged. "You never know, Kathleen. Hell, with our 'luck'…" She put air quotes around the word. "With our luck, I wouldn't be surprised."

**-+-+-+-**

Why did it have to take _5 whole minutes_?! It was just too damn long!

I groaned, hitting my head against the medicine cabinet in agitation. I had never been extremely patient, and the weight of the situation didn't help at all. I hopped up onto the counter, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

'_It won't be positive.'_

I clutched the test tightly in my hand, wondering, my mind venturing into what I had deemed impossible. What if I _was_…?

In all honesty, I really didn't want to be. I was nineteen, totally not ready for that giant step. And Riley was only twenty-sev–

Riley.

I'd never been so glad that he was gone, to be honest. He and Ben had gone off to a conference in Boston that weekend, so no matter what happened, I had time to prepare before he came home.

Things between us had gotten even better, if that were even possible. Ever since my return, he'd been jokingly referring to me as his 'fiancée' (at least, I thought he was joking…). I didn't really know what to think of it, honestly. I thought he was only kidding around a little, but that promise he'd made almost 2 months earlier still rang in my ears.

'_I want _you_ to be mine. One day, you _will _be.'_

So… Did that mean he was _seriously_ considering marrying _me_? I often reminded him that he was crazy for even thinking I was pretty, let alone being that serious. He would just laugh and kiss my cheek and tell me that I had to be blind to not see it. Then I'd try to argue and he'd shush me and give me that silly little grin that he knew I loved.

That was the thing about him lately; he was so… optimistic. This was odd, because whenever I watched the movie, he always seemed like…well… a Johnny-Raincloud, for lack of a better term. I didn't see how I had the ability to change that. Especially considering the fact that I'd nearly gotten him killed twice.

And if I was pregnant, it would probably be a quick end to his optimism, especially after how'd panicked after my little joke a few months earlier. I had to wonder, though, what he'd think now compared to then. Would he still freak out, or would he be a little more…accepting of the situation because of how things were going right now?

The final two minutes inched by ever so slowly, as if Father Time was just _trying_ to drive me insane or something. Finally, I glanced up at the clock on the bathroom wall, and found my five minutes were up. I jumped down off the counter, slowly releasing my crushing grip on the object on my hands. I stopped, squeezing my eyes shut. I needed a moment to stop panicking. Everything would be fine.

Finally I released the breath I'd been holding in, taking a slow peek at the test. And then I did a double take.

"Oh! Oh… Oh my god! Oh no…"

My thundering heart skipped a beat. I let out a small choked noise, gripping the counter as if I were holding on for dear life. My legs were suddenly about to give out beneath my shaking body.

And the tiny pink word on the little screen stung like a slap to my face.

'_Pregnant.'_

**-+-+-+-+-**

**Oh dear. Well, I've pretty much just jumped right in with this, haven't I? Well, we'll see how this turns out next time!**


	2. What?

**Thanks for all your reviews, guys! Here's chapter 2, including the new PoV I told you about. Hope it's okay!**

**-XX-**

"Oh no, oh no, no no no no…" I fell back against the bathroom closet, shaking my head in disbelief. This could _not_ be happening. Not now. Please, I couldn't handle this right now. I actually began arguing with myself in my head.

'_How'd this happen? We were so careful…'_

'_Not careful enough.'_

I felt like crying or throwing a fit or _something_. But I just stared numbly at the test, hoping that maybe I'd read it wrong, hoping I'd missed a tiny pink 'Not' in front of it, that the test was negative and I could go on with my life.

But there it was, plain as day. '_Pregnant._'

Damn, I was in trouble now.

I tried to calm down and think straight, but it wasn't working out too well. So I finally opened the bedroom, door greeted by Nicole's anxious, waiting face.

"Well?"

Then I snapped like a rope, throwing the offending object against the wall as hard as I could. Then I crumpled to the floor and burst into tears.

I just needed a good cry; it was just too much for me to handle all at once. Nicole waited patiently, trying to soothe me, to no avail. Finally my eyes dried up and my sobs died down to hiccups. I wiped my eyes and tried to get my bearings. A dry sigh escaped my lips and I reached over to the pink stick on the hardwood floor, staring at it,

"What am I going to do?" I finally asked, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"I don't know." Nicole sighed, sitting on the floor beside me. "There isn't really much you can do except maybe set up a doctor appointment and talk to 'Daddy' about it."

"Oh, what am I going to tell Riley?" I pulled my knees to my chest. "He's gonna be so… He's going to freak out. Oh lord…"

"Relax, it'll be fine." Nicole said calmly, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"No, it won't. He doesn't even want kids." I shook my head. "Oh, how could something so small get me into such a huge mess?" I felt like I was going to start crying again.

"Well, look, Riley and Ben are gone for a few days, so you have some time to get a hold on the situation. And you know I'm here for you every step of the way, right?"

I nodded, hugging her tightly. "Hey, can I have some time alone? I've kind of got to think some things over…"

"Yeah." She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling scattered. I stood up, perching myself on the window seat in our room, thrusting the large window open. Taking a deep breath of the clean country air, I tried to get my bearings.

After a few minutes of silence, I'd collected my thoughts. First things first; I'd have to tell Riley _something. _Nervous as I was, I couldn't avoid it forever. I just didn't know how to approach it. I could just drop the bombshell on him, or try to be gentle about it. But how?

I started to get tired of thinking about it, so I got up and started walking around the room, the hardwood creaking quietly beneath my feet. I stopped in front of the mirror and sighed, carefully observing myself. It didn't show, not yet anyways. It probably couldn't be long until it did though. I found myself wondering exactly how pregnant I was. I'd figure that out soon, I guessed.

Now I was lying down in bed, staring up at the plain white ceiling. My hand absently drifted to my stomach, and the surreal feeling of the situation hit me suddenly. A baby?

No, not _a _baby. _My _baby. _Riley's _baby. _Our _baby.

And strangely, The thought didn't seem as scary as it had first appeared. I almost _liked_ it. So I smiled to myself slightly, closing my eyes. The room was silent, peaceful as the wind blew through the open window, stirring the curtains. I fell into the quiet, and slowly began to fall asleep…

-XX-

The next thing I was aware of was Nicole shaking me, trying to wake me.

"Kathleen?" She said gently. I sat up and looked at the clock. I'd been asleep for an hour. I yawned and swung my feet over the edge of the bed, standing up.

"Something wrong?" I asked, turning my head to the side. She looked a little worried about something. She pointed at the window and I rushed over. My heart sank as I saw a car pulling into the driveway. A silver one. Ben's silver Mercedes, to be exact.

My stomach flipped, making me nauseous again. "They're back? B-But they weren't supposed to be back for two days!"

"I know. I guess their conference must've been canceled." She bit her lip as I stared outside, watching Riley head towards the front door. I let loose a loud shout of surprise, a curse word slipping through, which was odd, because I very rarely cussed. I shook my head, sighing. I'd have to face him, whether I wanted to or not. I pushed past Nicole heading towards the stairs. I bit my lip, whispering to myself.

"Looks like Daddy's home early."

_**Riley**_

"Home sweet home!" I proclaimed, jumping out of the car.

"Yeah, _my_ home." Ben said flatly, killing the engine. I rolled my eyes and headed to the back of the car, popping the trunk. "You just sort of invited yourself to live here."

"Well, it was Kathleen's idea." I reminded him, pulling out my suitcase. "She wanted to be with Nicole, and I didn't want her in my apartment."

"Yeah, sure." Ben replied, shaking his head. I headed towards the front door, opening it. Kathleen stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking surprised as Abigail came in from the kitchen to meet Ben.

"Surprise!" I grinned, setting my suitcase down by the door. I strode forward, placing a kiss on Kathleen's lips. She gave me a small smile.

"Hey! What're you doing home so early?" She asked. There was something… off about her tone.

"Our conference was canceled." I readjusted the strap of my backpack.

"Oh." She looked nervous about something. I looked at her closely.

"Are you alright?"

She shrugged, offering a smile. "I'm fine."

"Why don't I believe you?" I whispered, frowning. Kathleen sighed, and then leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

"We'll talk about it later, all right?" Her eyes were almost pleading.

I nodded slowly, though I wasn't really satisfied with that answer. I pecked her on the cheek and picked up my suitcase as Nicole bounded past me with a quick "Hey Riley."

I went upstairs to the room, smiling to myself. It was cleaner than when we'd left; Kathleen must've cleaned it again. I set the suitcase down on the bed, unlatching it. I began removing clothes from it when something caught my eye. A small plastic object sat on the bed, under the lid of my suitcase. I lifted up the lid and picked the thing up, suddenly reeling in shock.

'_What is this?!'_

Okay, I had three options here. One, it belonged to Nicole. That was pretty unlikely, considering she didn't have a boyfriend. Two, it was Abby's. Possible, but why would it be in my room? So that only left…

"Kathleen!" I shouted, still dazed. 10 seconds later, she appeared at the bedroom door.

"Riley, what's the…?" She trailed off, her face freezing up when she spotted what I was holding up to show her.

"Is this…? Did you…?" I choked out a few uncompleted sentences. "Are you?"

There was long, silent moment. The color drained from her face, and there was finally a tiny nod. I felt my own face going pale. I heard the plastic thing clatter to the floor as I stared at her for a brief moment. She looked ready to start crying.

Finally, I looked away, running my hands through my hair. "When did you find out?"

"This morning." She said quietly.

"Oh, um…Wow." It was all I could manage.

"I'm sorry!" Kathleen blurted out, her voice cracking.

"Oh, don't be sorry." I said quickly, holding her arms to steady her. "It's not like we could do anything about it…"

"But you don't want it, do you?" She asked quietly, tears pooling in her eyes.

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to come up with a response. Truth was, I wasn't so sure that I really did. I gave a non-committal shrug

"I don't… I don't know. Just give me a while to let it sink in." I sank down onto the bed slowly, trying to collect my thoughts. "Maybe… Maybe it's a false positive?" I suggested, sounding almost hopeful.

Kathleen shook her head. "It's not." Her hand dropped to her stomach and she stared out the window, slowly sitting beside me

"We'll figure this out." I brushed her bangs away from her face, kissing her forehead. She nodded shakily, holding my forearms.

"I'm kind of scared." She admitted quietly. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard Abigail calling up the stairs.

"Lunch is ready!"

"We'll talk about it later." I promised with a small nod, relieved to escape the painful conversation. My heart going double-time, I put an arm around her waist and led her down the stairs into the kitchen. We popped down into our seats.

Abigail, always the observant one, happened to notice our exceptional silence.

"You two okay? You're so quiet…"

"We're fine." Kathleen blurted a little too quickly. Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously." She prompted. Everyone in the room grew silent. Kathleen and I exchanged wary looks.

"We, uh…" I stumbled over the words. I was nervous of how Ben and Abigail might react. After all, they were like the strict parents I never had. "We're having a baby."

**-XX-**

**Oh, we'll see how Ben and Abigail react in the next chapter…**

**I hope the last part is okay, I've never written from Riley's PoV before… **

**Reviews are love! =)**


	3. Reactions

**Chapter 3! Enjoy! ^^**

**-X-**

_**Kathleen**_

Ben and Abigail's glances moved from me to Riley and back and forth, their faces a mix of confusion, disbelief, and various other things. Ben looked incredulous, and then his face turned more serious as he gave Riley a parental look, the kind your parents give you when you've really screwed up. Riley and I exchanged glances, and then we waited patiently for Abby's reaction.

She gasped, and then, surprisingly enough, broke into a huge smile. "That's wonderful! You're going to parents!" She was obviously extremely happy, continuing to babble on about it. I let out a sigh of relief, glad that at least someone was on my side.

"Thanks, Abby. I'm glad you're happy." I smiled, and Abby grinned back.

Meanwhile, Riley sat in silence, hardly moving. He pushed some macaroni and cheese noodles around with his fork, while Ben's stern glare was sending him a clear message.

_We're going to talk about this. Now._

Ben and Riley both pushed up from the table and left the room, presumably heading for Ben's study to talk in private. Abigail began clearing the dishes, still bubbling with happiness. Nice as it was, it was starting to get on my nerves. I got up from the table as well, thinking of what I was supposed to do next. I'd really only gotten this far in my mind. I started walking down the hall in a daze, finding myself right in front of Ben's study. I heard voices coming through the door, so I pressed my ear closer to listen.

"…_What I have a problem with is the fact that you're sleeping together. Honestly, Riley, she's 19. You two shouldn't be doing that, and even if you really feel moved to, you should at least be responsible about it…"_

"_Don't you think I already know that? We've been responsible, we must've just slipped up one time, I don't know…"_

"_Well that one slip-up just caused a bigger problem…"_

I stood back from the door, somewhere between dazed and totally pissed off. I ground my teeth, shaking my head.

"Our baby is not a _problem_." I whispered angrily to myself, shaking my head. It wasn't a problem, not to me. I clenched my fists, suddenly in the mood to hit something. I bit my tongue, trying to calm myself. I didn't realize the extent of my anger until I taste a flash of coppery blood in my mouth from biting my tongue too hard. I let up, relaxing my tensed muscles, and walked away from the door.

I found myself in my bedroom again, sitting on the window seat as I weighed the test in my palm carefully, thinking over the situation. It seemed like I'd been doing a lot of that today: thinking.

'_He can't be right. This isn't a problem… Is it?'_

I twisted the diamond ring on my finger, thinking about Riley. Mostly wondering what he was thinking. I wondered what else Ben had said to him and what he thought of this whole thing. Did Riley think this was a problem?

At that moment, the door opened, and the very subject of my thoughts stepped into the room, silently closing the door behind him. He sat beside me, staring at the floor for a long time.

"What'd he say?" I asked quietly. He shrugged, obviously not wanting to talk about it. I moved closed, putting a hand on his cheek as I studied his face. "Are you going to be okay?"

He nodded. "I… I think I'll be okay."

I nodded in response, gently leaning in to kiss him. I barely touched my lips to his before I pulled back. He ran his fingers through my hair, still not smiling. I sighed, curling up against him. He wrapped an arm around me protectively, and we stayed in those same positions, not saying a word, almost the entire afternoon.

-XX-

I looked over the top of People magazine at the stark white waiting room, slightly nauseous. I was pretty sure it was only nerves this time. Of course, it didn't help at all that the chair against mine was pretty much vibrating. While I chose to repress my nerves, Riley was visibly nervous, fidgeting and shaking. I put a hand on his leg, a reflex.

"Relax. I don't see what you're so worried about."

"Oh, I dunno, maybe the fact that our entire future depends on…" His eyes fell to my stomach. I rolled my eyes.

"You're being over-dramatic, Riley."

"Am I, though?"

I rolled my eyes again.

I already _knew_ I was pregnant; this was just to make it official, really. The thought of a baby being in there was still abstract to me. Once I heard the heartbeat, it would be more real for me. And maybe it would get Riley to calm down a little bit.

Finally a smiling nurse called my name, and we both got to our feet. Riley still had his hands clenched in fists, biting his lip as we walked into the doctor's office. I wanted to smack him and tell him to relax, but I refrained from doing so. Barely.

Things began regularly; the doctor asked some questions, we answered, and so on. Riley was still white as snow, still fidgeting. I actually did end up smacking his arm when the doctor wasn't looking, as I was getting really annoyed with him. Then there was the ultrasound.

The doctor did all the preparing, the gel and everything. I shivered, looking up at Riley. He looked back at me, trying his best to smile. He put a trembling hand on my shoulder as we waited, trying to patient. I tried to give him a comforting smile, but he wasn't even paying attention.

Finally the doctor smiled. "Hear that? That's the heartbeat. It looks like you two are going to be parents. You appear to be about eight weeks along."

I glanced up at Riley, waiting to see his reaction. He stayed still, listening for a moment. The next second, he hit the floor in a dead faint. My hand flew to my mouth in shock, but somehow a few giggles escaped my lips. "Oh, Riley…" I'd been expecting that sort of reaction. Dr. Weber smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"He'll come to in about a minute. That happens a lot, especially with the first-timers."

I nodded. "I'll bet."

"So are you two married?" She glanced down at my left hand curiously. I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

"No. It's actually sort of a long story." I blushed. "Don't worry though; you're not the first one to ask."

This was true. There were all sorts of people on the streets who thought we'd gone off and eloped in South Dakota.

She smiled, cleaning everything up. "I'm guessing from the way he looked before that this was a surprise for you two?"

I nodded, looking down at Riley, waiting for him to come to. About 20 seconds later, his eyes opened, and he looked up at me, his face blank and confused.

"Wha-What happened?"

"You fainted when you heard the heartbeat, love." I sighed, adjusting my T-shirt. He nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, right." His cheeks turned red, probably in embarrassment.

I hopped down of the paper, stepping closer. "You gonna be okay? Didn't hit your head too hard?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He shrugged. "Just a little light-headed."

Dr. Weber walked around, smiling. "That'll pass in a few minutes." She handed me the printout of the ultrasound. "Looks like we're all done. Give me a call if you've got any more questions."

I nodded and thanked her, taking Riley by the hand as we left the office.

"Need me to drive, _Daddy_?" I grinned teasingly.

Riley made a face. "That's going to take some getting used to. No, I'm fine."

Once we were in the car, I settled back into the seat and looked at the picture in my hand. It was strange to connect the picture to a real, living thing, and when I tried I could imagine it. The realization, though, was mind-blowing.

'_This is really happening. We're going to be parents.'_

-X-

When we got home, everyone reacted differently. Nicole was happy, Ben was a bit distant, and Abby, of course, was nearly ecstatic. She insisted on having the thing framed, though I pointed out that that would be going overboard just a bit. I didn't understand what she was so excited about, but it was nice.

Later that night, I was lying in bed by myself, wondering about what might happen over the next 8 months. I felt a presence behind me, and Riley's lips were suddenly right in my ear.

"Hey."

I turned around, smiling tiredly. "Hi. Feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." He smiled back in the darkness. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and he kissed the top of my head.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

I pulled my face back, correcting myself. "No, _we_ love you."

He sighed, looking out into the darkness of the room. I sighed too and flipped back over to my original position, facing the window. I closed my eyes, almost dozing. His arm wrapped around my waist, and I heard a faint whisper.

"I love both of you."

**-XX-**

**Awww… :P How fluffy.**

**Review, please. :)**


	4. Tabloids

**Chapter mostly about Nicole, except for a smidgen at the end. Enjoy! ^^**

**-XXX-**

_**Nicole**_

"Ugh, what's that smell?"

That was the first thing I heard from Kathleen one morning – well, it was really becoming every morning by now. I sighed.

"Good morning to you too." I turned back to my magazine as she scowled at me, flicking my dark blonde hair over my shoulder.

"It's eggs." Riley prodded some on his fork. "I thought you liked eggs?"

I elbowed him hard in the ribs. "It's the morning sickness, idiot! Someone like you should be able to figure that out by now…" I trailed off, shaking my head. His cheeks colored as he scowled down at his plate.

"Hmm, looks like I'll be having toast then." Kathleen said breezily, opening the breadbox. She looked over her shoulder at the tabloid in my hands, frowning. "You actually read those things. Come on, you know that there's no truth to them…"

"Not really." I flipped the page, really not the least bit interested in what was happening with Brangelina and all those other Hollywood couples. One picture caught my eye though. The people in it looked very _familiar_. I read the headline of the article, and then quickly re-read it to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"Wait a minute…" I dropped my feet from the chair they'd been propped up on.

"What?" Riley leaned in closer.

"I hope you weren't planning on keeping this whole, ah… pregnancy thing a secret…" I said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Kathleen blinked. Then it dawned on her, and she flew over to the table, wrenching the magazine from my hands so fast I thought she'd cut my hands open . "'Treasure-Hunters Expecting?!' How'd those stupid Hollywood tabloids find out?" She muttered a few uncharacteristic profanities, sinking into the chair next to Riley.

"I don't know…" I mused, reading through the article. "Kathleen Wright, 19, and Riley Poole, 29, most famous for their assistance in discovering the Templar Treasure and Cibola, are rumored to be expecting a child in February." I bit my lip, looking up at the both of them, waiting for a reaction.

As, could be expected, Kathleen burst into tears, burying her face in Riley's shoulder. His eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Aw, come on, Katy, it's not that bad…"

"It's not just that! The whole world knows about something I wanted to keep secret, my boobs hurt like hell, and I haven't been able to keep down anything but toast and saltine crackers for the past 3 days!"

"Uh, thanks for sharing …" I said, wincing. "I'm just going to…I'm going to Greg's. Sorry, Kathleen, you can, um… burn that magazine if you want?" I stood up, slinging the backpack containing some of my things over my shoulder. Riley glared at me, mouthing 'Thanks a lot' as I made my hasty escape, trying to get away before either of them killed me.

I stepped out the back door, hopping over to my shiny red Prius. I was glad to finally have my own car and stop having to borrow Ben's all the time. I slid into the driver's seat and started the gar, putting it in drive as I drove off

-X-

I knocked on the apartment door, bouncing on my heels. It opened and I sprang forward.

"Hey Greg!" I grinned, bouncing in the door.

"Hey babe." He smiled, pecking my cheek. "What're you doing here?"

"Just though I'd pop by. That and I wanted to escape the house for a few hours. Might be safer to escape for a few days, actually." I set my backpack down on the couch, sinking into the cushions.

"Why's that?"

I bit my lip. "Well, I kind of… made my best friend cry..."

He cocked an eyebrow. "What'd you do to make her cry, Nikki?"

"It wasn't entirely my fault! I mean, she's kind of touchy this morning. You know, the hormones."

Of course I'd shared this news with my boyfriend. I was terrible at keeping secrets, so when he asked, I blurted it out unthinkingly.

He nodded, going back to buttering a piece of toast. "You want anything?"

"Ah, coffee would be nice. You know how I like it." I grinned, settling back on the couching again, watching _Good Morning America_ with semi-interest. Greg walked into the room, handing me my coffee as he set his plate down on the coffee table. He ran his hands through his dirty blonde hair before turning to me.

"You know, I've been thinking lately…"

"Ooh, sounds dangerous." I teased lightly, grinning. He rolled his eyes, shoving a pillow at me.

"Very funny." He half-scowled and half-smiled. "No, seriously though, I've been thinking about us, and…" He paused, as if not sure how to go on. "I think that we should move in together."

I choked on my coffee, nearly spitting it all over the coffee table. "What?" My voice was hoarse, surprised.

"Well, I just thought that we should try it. I mean, you live in a house with four other people, and you seem like the more independent type. There's more than enough room for both of us here."

He had a point; I didn't necessarily enjoy living with other people, two of those people being my ex-boyfriend and my ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend. But there was my best friend to think about.

"Kathleen? She needs, Greg, I can't just abandon her. She needs some sort of help, and Riley's a nervous wreck most of the time."

"You'll only be a mile away if she really needs you." He pointed out, sounding hopeful.

I sighed. "I'll think about it, okay?"

He nodded, kissing my forehead. I leaned in to him reluctantly and sighed, burying my face in his chest.

-X-

_**Kathleen**_

"He wants you to move in?"

I couldn't say I was surprised. Nicole and Greg had going strong for three months now. It was actually the longest relationship she'd ever had, but that wasn't really the point right now. I popped another grape in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully."

"Yeah, I don't know what to tell him, though."

"Go for it, Nikki." I urged. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I think I can take care of myself. Besides, it's only about 5 minutes from here, you'll still be close."

She nodded, sighing. "But I don't know if I want to leave." She said slowly, uncertainly.

I smiled encouragingly. "For heaven's sake, you should just _go_. It'll all work out fine."

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged absently, stealing a grape from my hand. She looked thoughtful for a minute. "He's a really awesome guy."

"I think you've said that about a million times." I laughed. She grinned, shrugging.

"Point?"

I shrugged, laughing again. "There's not one, really."

She sighed, sinking back onto the couch cushion. "I think I'm gonna stick around her, actually. You know me with guys. Can't really get too serious with them."

I nodded, recalling her past relationships, all of which had been doomed to failure. I winced, thinking. I'd noticed that a lot of my past relationships had ended badly too. but it would be different this time, I decided.

Or at least I hoped so.

**-XXX-**

**Oooh, we'll see… -mysterious glance-**

**Review, please! All reviews make me smile! =]**


	5. Relationships

**Ahhh, sorry for the large gap between updates. My muse kept on disappearing. Don't you just hate that? –grr-**

**Ah, well, update now, yay.**

**-X-**

"Riley Poole, tell me where you're taking me!!"

I couldn't help but be frustrated. After all, my self-proclaimed 'fiancé' had 'kidnapped' me, blindfolding me and forcing me into his car. I was getting annoyed that he wouldn't answer any of the questions I'd been asking. I'd been pelting them at him almost constantly for the last five minutes. Finally, I groaned impatiently.

"RILEY!"

"Wow, someone is in a bad mood_,_" I could practically hear the amused smirk in his voice. I sighed angrily.

"God dammit, just tell me what you're doing!"

"You'll see in about two minutes."

"Are you going to kill me and dump me in the river?"

"Nope."

"Does it have anything to do with what day it is?"

The date was August 17th, which happened to be my birthday. My twentieth, as a matter of fact. Well, I was technically still 19, but the situation was complicated, and age is only a number anyway, so it didn't matter. Not to Riley and Nicole at least. They'd insisted on celebrating, though I was reluctant. Birthdays had never been my favorite thing.

"Um, maybe…"

I shifted in the leather seat, still annoyed with him. I decided to change the subject. "We're going to have to get a more family oriented car."

"Why?"

I turned to give him what would've been a glare were my eyes not covered. "Because I will not allow you to drive our child around in a Ferrari. You've already crashed it twice; besides, this thing can hardly be safe for a baby, I mean, come on, where would you put a car seat in it? It's just not safe, maybe a nice van or something would be -"

He pressed a finger to my lips. "Shush. You worry too much. We have plenty of time to discuss that later. And just so you know, my driving is not that terrible!"

"I beg to differ," I sighed. I felt the car slow, then halt on the road. He cut the engine, filling my ears with a resounding silence. I waited for him to untie my blindfold, but instead received an unexpected kiss. I pulled back. "Stop it, untie this thing first!"

He laughed, kissing my cheek again before he swiftly lifted the blindfold away from my eyes. I looked around, blinded by the sunlight at first. When my eyes slid into focus, I looked up in confusion. We were parked in a driveway, in front of a house I didn't recognize.

"Ummm… You took me to a stranger's house?"

"Not _exactly_," He looked amused and hopeful. It took me a second to connect the dots. My mouth fell open, my eyes growing wide in surprise and a little bit of anger.

"Riley James Poole, you _didn't_!"

"I did," He looked pleased with himself. "Happy birthday."

"So let me get this straight…" I stared at him in confusion. "You bought me a _house _for my twentieth birthday?!"

"Well, it's more for both of us," He paused. "Err, the three of us. I keep forgetting."

I laughed, and then looked up at the house for a second. It was beautiful, I had to admit. It was white on the outside, pretty big with a lot of windows. It looked pretty quaint. I turned to Riley, grinning.

"Thank you! This is the most amazing thing…"

He smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'm afraid this is the sort of gift I can't return." He suddenly shoved a piece of paper into my hand. "A map," He explained. "Thought you'd like to do some exploring."

I smiled, kissing his cheek and throwing my arms around his neck. "I can't believe you actually did this. I mean, it's so…" I sighed, searching for the right word. "Unlike you. We don't really need…"

"Well, I figured we'd want to get our own place. And besides, Ben made it a point that the house was technically his and we'd pretty much invited ourselves to live there."

"Yeah…" I shrugged, opening the car door. "Come on!"

He followed me up to the front step, unlocking the door and letting it swing open. It was empty inside, bare and clean. I opened up the little map he'd made for me, blinking.

"This question mark room, what…?"

"You'll see." He said simply. "Save it for last."

I pouted, but moved off in the direction of the kitchen, map in hand. I sensed him following, and as I explored the spacious kitchen, he leaned against the doorframe, watching me with a satisfied smile on his face, hands jammed in his pockets.

I looked up, brushing a lock of hair from my face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I smiled, moving towards the door, but he blocked me. I cleared my throat.

"Pardon me, I'd like to…"

He silenced me with his lips, his hands resting on my waist. We continued like this for a short while before I pulled back.

"What was that about?"

He shrugged, walking off. I walked after him, smacking him with the folded map.

"I'm not going to wait until last, sorry." I bounded for the stairs, going up to the second floor and skipping down the hall to the mystery room.

"You're spoiling the fun of it!" Riley shouted, appearing at the top of the stairs just as I reached for the doorhandle. He sprinted, grabbing a hold of my arm with a little smirk.

"I'm not waiting for you." I said evenly, pushing the door open with my free hand. Letting out a triumphant little 'ha', I stepped into the room.

Which was empty, or so I thought. I looked around, taking a moment before I noticed the tiny bear against the wall that had a small white envelope situated in its lap. I looked back at Riley, confused. He motioned for me to go forward, so I stepped up to it and knelt down, picking up the envelope. I opened the unsealed flap and pulled out a piece of paper. Something was written on it, and I recognized Riley's messy handwriting immediately.

"For Baby P."

I repeated it a few times to myself, then looked around at the whiles. I realized they'd been painted a light green, while the rest of the walls in the house were white. Then I understood.

"A nursery," I murmured. I whirled around to look at Riley, who was still leaning casually against the door frame. I ran to him, jumping up so that my legs wrapped around his waist. He nearly fell over.

"I take it you like it?"

"Of course I like it!" I kissed him warmly, and then turned my head to the side. "You're so conceited… How do you know she won't have my last name?"

"She?" Riley blinked, his mouth failing open. "W-When did you find that out?"

"I didn't, it's just a guess," I shrugged, dropping down to the floor. "There's a 50% chance I'll be right, isn't there?"

"I suppose," He snaked an arm around my waist, kissing the top of my head. I smiled, burying my face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you," I sighed. "Thank you."

He laughed slightly. "You're welcome. I love you too. You know what this means? Moving all our junk."

I groaned but laughed at the same time. "You can do all the packing. I'll just sit and watch. After all, I shouldn't be working in this condition."

"Oh, don't pull that, there's something you can do, I'm sure." He grinned, and we walked out into the hallway. I took one last look at the nursery, smiling silently to myself.

"I still can't imagine it," I shook my head. "In almost 7 months…"

I paused, searching for the words. "In 7 months, someone, some little bitty person will be living in this house with us."

He nodded, kissing my cheek lightly. "I still can't imagine it either," He agreed, shutting the nursery door behind us. "7 months… That seems like a really long time."

I nodded and clasped his hand in mine.

I had no idea how long those months would seem someday.

-X-

_**Nicole**_

"I've _had it_ with men! All of them! They can all go jump off a cliff together!"

The door slammed behind me, rattling the windows. I fumed silently to myself, hanging up my purse and falling to the couch, burying my face in a pillow. Why did all the guys in the world have to be such idiots?

"What's wrong, Nikki?" I heard Kathleen enter the living room, and I looked up to see her standing in the doorway, her face smudged with flour. I looked at her quizzically. "I was attempting to make cookies."

Even in my seething state, I had to laugh at that. Kathleen had never been experienced in the kitchen. She was good at simple things like making toast and canned soup, but she was never good at baking. She sighed.

"I asked what the matter was." She reminded me.

I sighed again, closing my eyes again.

"Greg is stupid."

"Uh-oh." She sat down on the couch, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Tell me what happened."

"Well, we were talking, and he told me that he was the one who told the papers about you and Riley. I got pissed at him about it, but he kept asking what the big deal was and laughing about it and everything. I told him how upset you were about it, and he didn't even seem to care."

"Ah," She nodded, embracing me. "I'm sorry that didn't work out for you, Nikki."

"Me too," I twisted out of her arms. "Why is it the greatest guys always turn out to be jerks?"

"I don't know, that's just the way life works, unfortunately." She stood up, getting ready to walk off to the kitchen. I popped up, following.

"Maybe I'm just not meant to live with other people." I guessed, sitting down at the island in the middle of the kitchen, propping my chin up on my elbows. "Maybe I should just stay celibate for my entire life and swear off any contact with men.

"Oh, don't talk like that." She measured out some chocolate chips in a cup, sticking a few in her mouth. She offered me a handful, which I gladly accepted. "And acting like a nun is not your lifestyle, trust me on that one."

"Well it's the truth. Everytime I date a guy it never lasts."

"You just haven't found the right… Oh dammit!" She jumped back as milk began flowing across the counter. Unable to help myself, I laughed, though I offered her a towel.

"These are brand new pants too!" She moaned, on her knees to clean milk off the floor. "I just bought them. My others don't fit as well anymore."

"Oh, so you're starting to put on a little baby weight, hmm?" A smirk started playing across my lips.

She got to her feet, giving me a look. "Yes, I am. I'm 3½ months pregnant for God's sake; it was bound to start showing soon, right?"

I shrugged, looking at her; I realized that it was really was starting to show. Since she'd always been super skinny for some reason, there was already a visible bump where her flat stomach had once been.

"Stop staring at me like that." She scowled.

"You think that's bad, wait until total strangers want to come up and touch it."

She scowled once more, going back to her baking.

I hadn't noticed but something seemed different about her. I remembered when this whole thing had started, she'd always been a very light-hearted person. Now she seemed much more mature than was really fair for her 19 years. I considered how much had happened over the past few months, and I realized there was probably good reason for the change, thought I'd only just noticed it.

"So when are you and Riley moving?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We're still working on that. And by 'we', I mean Riley's working on it. He won't let me help with a thing. He's acting really weird about the whole thing."

I shrugged indifferently, bounding out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Riley was digging around under the bed in their room. Boxes were scattered everywhere, all labeled in Riley's handwriting, which was nearly illegible.

"Hey, need some help?"

I heard Riley crack his head on the bottom of the bed and mutter a few curses to himself. I grinned cheekily, walking into the room. Riley pushed himself out from under the bed.

"Why do you have to _do_ that?" He scowled, rubbing the back of his head.

"To annoy you, of course." I plopped down on the bed, watching him curiously.

"So what do you want?" He looked annoyed, the same look he usually sported when we were talking and Kathleen wasn't around. I rolled my eyes.

"I asked if you needed any help."

"No, I can handle it, thanks," He moved to slide back under the bed. I rolled, my eyes, moving to walk out of the room, but I stopped, leaning against the wall.

"So… you're moving?"

"That's kind of the idea, yeah."

"Hmmm…" I nodded, taking a piece of gum from my pocket. "I'll miss you guys. You're the only ones I can ever actually talk to. Ben avoids me at all costs and Abby's too damn chipper to get a word in edgewise."

"I see. Well, we'll only be 10 minutes away, if you ever want to, uh, visit or anything." His voice was muffled by the mattress above his head.

"Okay." I paused. "Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of Kathleen, okay? Or I'll come over there and kick your ass myself."

He pushed out from under the bed again, a small box in his hands. "Will do."

"What's that?" I inclined my head at the box in his hands. He shrugged, lowering the box into a bigger cardboard box with his name scrawled on it.

"Just some random stuff of mine."

"Ah, cool." I shrugged, walking out of the room. I turned around, sticking my head back in the room for a minute. "And I hope you know how to cook. Kathleen can't even make toast."

**-X-**

**Yay, fluff! Hehe, I like fluff. I'll try to update sooner this time, I promise! I have a few ideas about where this thing might go. ;)**

**Please review, love you!!**


	6. Meetings

**OMG, I'm back, baby! –bounces with happiness- Many thank to my awesome bestie Kirsten, who helped me work past my writer's block for this story and gave me some awesome ideas for a Nicole plot. Nicole gets some love, hurray! **

**It feels good to be back in the groove and I promise on a stack of NT DVDs and even on Riley's head… Okay, maybe not Riley's head. But I swear on a stack of National Treasure DVDs that there will be an update soon!**

**Thank you to everyone who waited for the past few months and encouraged me. Love you guys!**

**So go on! Read!**

**-XXXX-**

_**Kathleen**_

The next month or so passed without much incident; we moved into our new house and began to adjust to living on our own. It felt strange at first, but I liked it. Nicole came over as often as was possible, or at least as often as Riley would let her, and even when he didn't want her to. At least they were somewhat able to act cordial around each other, even though they were always teasing and picking on each other, to my amusement. They were so much like brother and sister.

Of course, my pregnancy kept advancing. Even though the morning sickness went away, there were still the mood swings and the cravings and the inevitable weight gain. Poor Riley and Nicole, since they were the ones around me the most, bore the brunt of it all. They both seemed to take it all in good spirits. Some days I was on Cloud 9, other days I was about to kick Riley's ass for getting me pregnant in the first place. When I was like that, Nicole was the only one allowed within 10 feet of me, and she was always good at getting calmed down to where I could at least speak coherently and mean it when I apologized.

The early months were quite interesting to say the least, but I was still happy. Riley seemed to be gradually warming up to the idea of fatherhood. He came to every appointment, and managed to stay conscious, and he just seemed happy.

For the first time in a long time, everything was finally right.

-XXXX-

_**Nicole **_

"Aw, look at _this! _Isn't it adorable?"

I looked up at the pink outfit in her hands, and almost laughed.

"Yeah, it's cute. But what if it's a boy?"

"Oh," Kathleen frowned, returning the outfit to the rack where she'd found it. "It's hard to shop for baby clothes when we don't know how big it is or if it's even a boy or a girl."

"I told you it was a bit early." I shrugged. "Why don't we find something for you?"

"Me?"

"Kathleen, you're getting too big for a lot of your clothes," I said gently, motioning at her slightly swollen stomach. I hoped that wouldn't hit a nerve, as it usually did – she had mood swings to give you whiplash, and you could never be too careful, especially when you brought up her size. She nearly ripped Riley's arm off once.

But she nodded in agreement, wandering over to a rack of maternity clothes.

"You're right." She sighed, absently putting a hand to her stomach as she looked around. We had gone out for the day, just the two of us, which we hadn't done in a long time. Of course, we were shopping for maternity clothes at the mall, but I guess it was better than not doing anything together. I looked around the store, slightly bored. There was too much pink in this store. Speaking of which…

"Look at this one."

I couldn't help but make a face. "Pink? Ruffles? But if you really wanna get it…"

She shrugged, putting it back on the rack. "You're right, pink isn't my color. What about blue?"

"There you go! Better." I looked around again, and then looked down at my watch. "It's almost time for lunch."

"Oh, it is. And I'm starving," She sighed.

"Of course you are," I laughed. "Eating for two, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," She laughed back. "I've got a hungry kid on my hands."

After she finally made a decision on what she wanted (which took another good ten minutes), we were on our way to the food court. We walked in, and I smiled. One of my favorite parts of the mall. We got in line, and I started looking at the boy in front of us, curious. He looked about our age with hair that looked to be dirty blonde. I felt Kathleen elbowing me.

"You think he's cute." She whispered, grinning.

"I do not!" I exclaimed, though in reality he wasn't exactly bad-looking… He stepped up to the front of the line.

"I'm gonna get an order of Cajun fries…"

"I love Cajun fries!" I blurted out, almost immediately wanting to hit myself. I heard Kathleen stifle a giggle behind me, and my face grew hot. He turned, giving me the most amazing smile I'd even seen. He looked strangely amused.

"Me too." He laughed, and then held out a hand. "I'm Landon."

"Nicole." I said, trying to turn down the red in my cheeks as I took the hand he offered. He smiled again, grabbing his tray and fries.

"Do you ladies need a place to sit?" He offered.

"Uh…" I stammered on the words, even though my thoughts screamed 'YES!'.

"Nicole can go." Kathleen spoke for me. "I'll find a place near you guys." She gave me a pointed look and a wink before walking up to the counter to buy her own food. I finally nodded, following him to a nearby table. I settled into the plastic chair, offering a smile of my own.

"Sorry I screamed at you," I half-laughed.

He grinned, shaking his head. "Nah, it's fine. You're bold, aren't you?"

"Most of the time." I shrugged, taking a fry from the basket. There was a short pause until Landon spoke up again.

"Tell me about yourself."

I froze – what was I supposed to say? _Well, I'm spending a year in National Treasure after my best friend and I fell through a portal in the universe that somehow ended up in my television. Has anyone told you that you have really nice eyes?_

Yeah, right. He'd think I was nuts and desert me. Unless he did that anyway.

I thought for a minute. "Well, I'm spending time with my… uncle. He has a big house outside the city." Hey, the uncle thing worked on Abby, why not him? I bit my tongue as I waited for an answer, but he just smiled and shrugged, totally buying it.

"Cool. What kinda movies do you like?"

"Well, I'm a big Star Wars fan. Dorky for a girl, right?"

He broke into a huge grin. "No way, that's awesome! Star Wars is the best!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Isn't it? And I'm a music nut. I'm learning how to play guitar right now."

"Really? That's awesome. What kind of music?" I couldn't believe that actually sounded and looked interested. It was nice that someone was interested in me for a change. I hadn't even gone on one date since I broke up with Greg. This was a refreshing change of pace.

"Um, a lot of the older rock and grunge type, you know."

He smiled his awesome smile again, and I couldn't help but grin back at him.

"You're really awesome, you know that? You're cool. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"

My mouth nearly fell open. Cute guy asking ME if I was free? This was definitely my day.

"Yeah."

"Wanna go out for coffee or something? Lunch?"

"S-Sure." I smiled brightly. I grabbed a napkin from the table, quickly scribbling my name and number on it before I handed it to him.

"Cool. I'll call you." He nodded, grinning as he stuffed the napkin in his pocket. He stood and walked off, looking back at me and waving. I waved back, ready to practically scream. I turned, looking for Kathleen. She sat a few tables away, looking directly at me as she ate. I ran over.

"You look happy. Did he ask you out?"

"He asked me to lunch tomorrow. He said he'd call."

"Ooh," She grinned. That part of her hadn't changed – she could still read me like a book and she just seemed to know everything. "Good luck. He's cute."

Consumed in all my thoughts and wonderings about my amazing change of luck, all I could was nod.

**-XXXX-**

**Reviews are appreciated, and critical comments are as well. I'm working on improving my skills and only want to give you my best! **


	7. Date

**Yay, a new chap! =)**

**Again, I owe a lot of credit for the ideas behind this to my best friend Kirsten. Thank you again, you are a life-saver! ^_^**

**I hope everybody likes!**

**-XXXX-**

_**Nicole**_

The day after I met Landon, I was almost expecting him not to call. But, true to his word, he called that morning, and we settled on getting some lunch and then going to play mini golf. I decided to have him pick me up from Kathleen's, since picking a girl up from a huge mansion can be just a little bit intimidating.

To be perfectly honest, I was actually nervous. You have to understand, me being nervous is a rare thing. It barely ever happens. For only knowing the guy for two days, I really did like him. More than Greg, even. It felt good.

When the doorbell rang, I was sitting on Kathleen's couch, watching some show on TV with her. I jumped about a foot and a half, causing Kathleen to burst into a giggle fit.

"Jumpy, are we?"

"Oh, shut it." I chucked one of the pillows at her, jumping up to get the door. I opened it, waving. "Hey."

"Hey." There was that smile again. God, would I ever get used to that? He was almost as bad as Edward Cullen. Without the blood-sucking vampire thing going on, anyway. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just a sec." I popped my head back into the house. "I'm off. Anyone's guess when I'll be back."

"Have fun, Nikk," Kathleen winked in my direction. I rolled my eyes, following Landon out to his car. It was a small car, dark red in color. It was shiny, like it'd either just been through the carwash or it was brand new.

"Oh, nice car."

"Thanks, I only got it about two months ago, it's still pretty new." Landon opened the passenger door for me, and I smiled graciously as I slid into the passenger seat. He got into the car, starting it, and the stereo began playing a Beatles song. I gasped.

"You like the Beatles?"

"Yeah, they were amazing. Why wouldn't I?" He grinned at me. Had I mentioned that I liked the Beatles yesterday? I didn't think so…

I grinned back at him. "I knew we were going to get along."

-XXXX-

"Agh, missed again!"

I couldn't help but to laugh at how amazingly frustrated he was getting. We were on the 16th hole at the mini-golf course, and he was already losing by a considerable amount, which seemed to be upsetting him.

"It's not that difficult, dude. It's mini-golf. Just relax and aim. Concentrate."

He sighed, muttering something to himself that I couldn't quite hear. He hit the ball again, and finally put it in the hole.

"You're only down by 7," I said, trying to sound encouraging. He shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Maybe mini-golf wasn't such a good idea. It's been years since I've played." He rubbed the back of his head as we walked towards the next hole.

"That's okay; I think it's actually pretty fun." I grinned at him, setting my neon yellow ball down on the green.

"Well, of course _you_ do. You're winning." He poked me in the shoulder, and I smiled cheekily. I hit the ball, apparently a little too hard, because it went flying, bounced, and landed right in a fountain. Landon looked ready to start cracking up. "Nice one."

I punched him lightly in the arm. "Shut up. Like you've never done that!"

"Actually, I honestly haven't." He said, still laughing. I walked over to the fountain, looking around in the water. I rolled up my sleeves, reaching for it. It was just barely out of reach. I sighed, looking back at Landon.

"Help me?"

He walked over, smiling smugly when he pulled the ball out of the water. I expected him to give it back, but instead he held it over his head. I attempted to jump for it, but it wasn't really working out. He was almost half a foot taller than me.

"Give it!" I demanded.

"Can I try something first?" He looked at me, curious.

"I don't care what you do! Just give me the damn b-"

My words were cut short unexpectedly. It took my brain a few seconds to register what was going on, and when I did, I wasn't sure if I should be ecstatic or pissed at him.

'_He kissed me!'_

It lasted a good 15 seconds, and then he pulled back, dropping the ball into my head while I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"What…the hell?"

"Sorry, maybe I should've waited until the second date."

I continued to stare at him for a brief moment, and then grinned at him.

"Nah, you're a good kisser. And you might actually get a second date. That's a rarity, consider yourself lucky."

He laughed, and I walked back to the green, dropping the ball again. I looked at him, the same

"Let's see if I'll stay _on_ the course this time, shall we?"

**-XXXX-**

_**Kathleen **_

"Okay, what happened?"

As Nicole's best friend, it was my job to get every detail out of her, and I pounced the second she walked in the door. It was totally obvious that _something_ had happened from the look on her face.

She looked at me, flustered. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Sit and spill." I grinned.

She sat down next to me, smiling slightly. "We went out to eat and we played mini-golf. I had a good time."

"And…?"

"And he kissed me."

I couldn't hold back a squeal of delight. "Really? That's awesome! He kissed you?!"

"He did," She nodded, breaking into a huge smile. I was pretty sure I'd never seen her so happy in years.

"That's great," I grinned back. "You really like him, don't you?"

She paused, and then nodded. "Uh-huh. I do."

I giggled, raising my eyebrows. "You two do make a good couple."

"Really?"

Before I could respond, the front door opened again and I heard Riley's voice. "Hey, I'm back." He walked into the living room, looking at Nicole. "Oh, you're here."

"Don't sound so excited to see me, Riley." She commented dryly. He rolled his eyes, walking off to the kitchen to put away the groceries.

"Oh, you two," I laughed, nudging Nicole. "You're always antagonizing each other."

"He started it."

I rolled my eyes, turning back toward the kitchen. "Hey, Ri, did you get my…"

"I did." He walked back in, handing me a carton of vanilla ice cream and a spoon. I grinned.

"I love you."

He laughed, kissing the top of my head. "Wow, I have to buy you ice cream just to get an 'I love you' anymore?"

"Riley, c'mon. You know that's not…" I stopped suddenly, dropping my hand to my stomach.

"Are you okay?" Riley and Nicole both looked at me, concern written all over their faces.

"I'm fine, I just thought I felt…" And there it was again. My eyebrows pushed together. It was a strange feeling in my stomach, like something very little fluttering its wings. Ten it hit me, and I broke into a wide smile. "It's the baby. I think the baby moved."

"Really?" Riley beamed, obviously relieved. I nodded.

"Oh, that reminds me." Nicole piped up. "I've been thinking. I think your baby needs an original name, something that sticks out. What do you think about Ringo Nicholas?"

I giggled sighing. "We're not naming this baby Ringo."

"Why not?! It's a solid name."

"But the kid would be picked on for the rest of his life." Riley argued.

"He has a point." I had to agree.

"Like my name. I was made fun of until I was a senior in high school!"

"Riley, it's not like she's naming it after you. Don't get cocky, that's what got you two in this mess in the first place."

I burst into giggles again, and Riley turned cherry red. "Nicole!"

"Well, really! If he would've just kept it in his…"

By now Riley was totally scarlet.

"SHUT UP!"

**-XXXX-**

**My apologies, I couldn't resist on that last bit. XP **

–**is terrible-**

**Anyway, reviews? **


	8. Visits

**Gah. –bashes own head on wall- I suck at the whole 'updating soon' thing. I just seem to have a really hard time getting my ideas from my head onto the paper (er, screen). **

**Major thank-yous are in order!:**

**KennedyRox992 (AKA Katie) for helping me teach me the art of cute and contributing major bits to this chapter. **

**American-Suiteheart (AKA Kirsten) for being a pest (the good kind!) and reminding me to actually work on this thing since I procrastinate so much.**

**All of you for being so incredible and supportive and patient between my far in-between updating. I would be absolutely nowhere without you!**

**---**

_**Kathleen**_

"Good morning, beautiful."

As I began to pull myself, the first thing I heard was Riley's voice, greeting me. I opened my eyes to look at him, smiling faintly.

"Talking to me?"

"No, my imaginary friend," He rolled his eyes, grinning teasingly. "Who else would I be talking to?"

I shrugged, still smiling. "How can you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Look at me like that and call me beautiful," I answered in reply, sitting up and pushing my hair out of my face. "I'm 7½ months with child, I'm huge and I can hardly stand up by myself anymore. And you still call me beautiful, the same way you did before."

"Because you are." He surprised me with a short but passionate kiss on the lips. "And nothing can ever change that. Not a baby, not anything."

I smiled wider, kissing his cheek. He grinned, kissing me again on the mouth, longer this time. I giggled slightly, my arms wrapping around his neck. He pulled me onto his lap, kissing my neck, causing to squeak in surprise.

"Riley!" I laughed. "Let's not forget that this is what got us here in the first place."

"I guess you're just that irresistible." He replied with his silly grin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes. "Not to spoil the romance here, but could we get a little breakfast? We're hungry." A little smirk found its way to my face, and he laughed, getting up off the bed.

"Of course. As you always are. Is that a baby or a human garbage disposal?"

I smacked his arm in mock anger. "Shut up, you! You're nearly just as bad. And Nicole… Jeez, it's a wonder we even have any food in the house between all of us."

"I know," He nodded in agreement, walking out to the kitchen. I pulled myself to my feet, following after him. I sat down at the kitchen table, watching as he began to put together breakfast.

"Wow, you learned how to cook!" I teased. "And the coffee maker is still intact!"

"Shut up." He laughed, but his face was scarlet. "That was one time. And it's not my fault the coffee maker caught on fire. I knew it was faulty."

"That's what they all say!" I shot back with a smirk, and he laughed again, continuing to work on the food. I muttered to myself, shifting in my seat.

"What's that?"

"I think the baby takes after you." I responded, putting a hand to my belly.

"How so?" He asked curiously, glancing at me, looking slightly nervous.

"Fidgety," I shrugged. "Always moving around in there."

"Well it's not like it has anything else to do." Riley reasoned with a shrug as he turned off the stove. He set down the food on the table and paused. "Y'know, I was thinking we should go to see Ben and Abigail later on today. It's been a while, and I think Abigail wants to see you."

I smiled. "Oh, yeah, I guess it has been a while, hasn't it? That sounds like a good idea."

Riley broke into a wide, teasing grin. "I'm just full of those, aren't I?"

"Oh, you wish!" I teased back, poking him in the arm. He laughed, poking me back,

"Do you mean to tell me that I'm not a super robot genius?"

"Oh, I think I would've noticed if you were a robot. And I'm not sure about the other parts either," I laughed, and he grinned, though he pretended to look shocked. I pulled him to me, kissing him gently on the lips. I suddenly jumped at a nudge from my stomach. I put a hand to it and Riley frowned.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." I quickly grabbed his hand, holding it to my swollen belly as the baby kicked again. "Did you feel that?"

A wide smile immediately spread across the face. "Wow, he's kicking like crazy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who says it's a he?"

He shrugged. "Just a guess. We really should find out."

"But I want it to be a surprise," I pretended to pout.

"Aw, c'mon, you know I can't stand it when you do that." He crossed his arms. "That isn't fair." But I only continued it, and he finally sighed, gently kissing my cheek. "Alright, alright."

"Yay." I grinned, pushing myself up from the table. "I'm going to get ready."

He nodded, and I went back to the bedroom, dressing myself as quickly as possible, even though I couldn't actually pick anything to wear.

"I don't know if I like this." I announced, modeling the shirt I'd chosen in the mirror. He sighed slightly but smiled.

"You look fine, K."

"If you say so." I tugged at the shirt sleeves. "But Nicole was right – pink isn't my color. Maybe I should try the gre-"

He cut me off by quickly kissing me on the lips. "Enough. You look beautiful, like always. Stop fussing."

I had to smile. "Okay. I'm ready then."

I followed, watching in amusement as he sprinted over to the convertible, doing his signature leap into the front seat.

"That is _still _fun."

"I bet." I got into the passenger seat, resting my head on his shoulder. "But take it easy, baby."

"I know, I know. Thank you, Mother." He kissed my forehead and started the engine. "Listen to that. Ever heard anything purr like that? I am really going to miss this thing."

"I never said you had to get rid of it, honey. I just don't want my baby in it."

"If you want to get technical about it, it already has been." He pointed out with a smirk. I rolled my eyes, smacking him playfully.

"Drive, you."

--

Not five minutes later, we arrived at Ben and Abigail's, and Abby had either seen or heard us – neither of which was incredibly difficult - coming because she was already waiting for us when we made it up the insanely long driveway.

She greeted us at the door with a huge smile and suffocating hugs.

"What took you two so long to get back over here?" She chided, and we both shrugged.

"I've been busy." Riley answered. "Writing, working with the publishing company, you know."

She rolled her eyes, but led us over to the couch, chattering happily about how everything was going, how Ben was working on his own book and teaching at Georgetown, how she was doing at work and everything else. We just had to smile and nod silently, unable to get a word in edgewise.

"Abby." Riley finally cut into a sentence about one of their dates, waiting for her to go silent. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where's Ben?"

"Oh, he's up in his study. I'll go up and tell him you two are here." She set down her tea cup and hopped up, heading for the stairs. Once she'd gone, I let out a long breath, rubbing my stomach.

"Wow. Ben was right. She really can't shut up."

Riley let out a little snort, smirking. "I think so." He looked at me, his head turning to the side as he looked at me. I blinked.

"What?"

"Nothin'…" His smile gently faded and he leaned in, kissing me tenderly on the lips. One hand rest on my face, the other finding the back of my neck. He broke off from me, his smile returning as I turned my face into his hand.

"Thanks," I smiled back at him. "I kinda missed that. Just…us. It's never going to be just us anymore, is it?"

"Nope." He smiled. "But we should enjoy it while we can." And he leaned in for another kiss. We remained that way for a while, locked on each other, before we heard Ben clear his throat from the stairs.

"You know that's what got you two that way in the first place?"

Riley rolled his eyes. "You're funny."

Ben grinned, coming down the rest of the way and sitting on the chair across from us. "How's it going?"

"Swimmingly," I replied, taking a sip of my tea and offering a tiny smile. He nodded. "And you? I heard you're working on a book."

"It'll probably do better than mine," Riley commented lightly.

"Oh, come on, Riley, you can't deny that your book sales had a huge spike after Cibola." Ben pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes and I lightly smacked him in the arm. Ben and Abigail laughed. I rested my head on Riley's shoulder.

"So what's it about?" I asked curiously.

"Just some Gates family history." He shrugged, and I grinned.

"Of course. What else? It's your best subject."

He shrugged again, and Riley grinned as well.

"How about lunch?" Abby piped up. "I'm sure we all have lots to talk about, I can make something real quick…"

So the lunch was quickly prepared while the three of us chattered about really nothing in particular. We all sat down to eat and Abby looked at me, smiling.

"I think we should have a baby shower." She declared. I paused, fork with spaghetti around it poised in midair. Feeling all eyes on me, I set the fork down, thinking on it for a moment.

"Well… I don't know, Abby." I answered truthfully. "I mean, not to put a damper on that, but I don't really know that many people here, honestly. And… That seems like more of Nicole's job, since she's my best friend and all…"

There was sort of an awkward silence until Abby looked down at her plate and shrugged. "Oh, I see…"

So to break the strain, Riley started eating quickly, commenting on how good the garlic bread she'd made was. I fought back the inevitable tears, feeling awful. Everything made me cry anymore. Damned hormones.

I pushed back from the table and excused myself to the bathroom, trying to relax and remind myself that it wasn't really that big of a deal. But I felt like I'd hurt Abby's feelings. I came back out, going cautiously back to the dining room. My fears proved unfounded, however, when I saw her back to her chattering self, asking Riley all sorts of questions about the baby and how everything was going. She pulled me right back into the conversation as though nothing had ever been wrong.

--

We spent a good part of three hours at Ben and Abigail's, and when we finally finished catching up with Abby (meaning we finally got her to shut up), we went back to the car. But we weren't going home.

"I think it's time to introduce you to someone," He said carefully.

"Who?"

"You'll see."

That always annoyed me to no end, but I sat back in my seat, just pouting as I waited for us to arrive. After nearly half an hour, we pulled up in front of a quaint little house in a rather plain looking neighborhood. He helped me out of the car and led me up the front steps, ringing the doorbell. He rubbed his hands together, but I wasn't sure if it was nervousness or the December cold.

I was not prepared for what happened.

The door opened, and standing there was a short-ish woman who looked about 45 to 50 years old. She had dark hair that was beginning to grey and large blue eyes that I recognized immediately. I took a sharp breath in surprise as I looked between her and Riley, realizing who she was. He'd brought me to meet his mother.

"Riley!" She smiled, although she looked surprised and maybe a bit confused. She embraced her son.

"Mom." He said warmly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "You look well. Good, as always."

A familiar type of smirk fell on her lips and she gave sort of a girlish giggle. "As do you, dear." Then she turned to me, her eyes softening as she saw my face and then my belly. Shock seemed to register in her eyes, but she blinked it off before addressing us both.

"Come in, come in, you'll freeze out there." She ushered us into the little living room with a burning fireplace. I glanced at him warily, taking off my coat. As she bustled off to the kitchen to get drinks, turned on him.

"Your mom?" I asked in a sort of horror. His cheeks flamed. "Have you even told her about me?"

"Uhh…" He looked away, obviously embarrassed. That explained her shock. "Once. A while ago. When you were gone."

"Oh." I was confused, and he quietly led me to the couch.

"I love my mom to death, but we don't talk very much."

"I see…" I played with a loose thread on his shirt. "That explains a lot."

Riley's mother returned, smiling slightly.

"Tea's on." Her eyes flicked to me, then her son. "Ah, Riley, d'you mind explaining this?" I could sense the awkwardness between them, so I wisely chose to stay quiet.

"I told you about Kathleen?" He cleared his throat, standing to introduce us more formally. "This is Kathleen Wright. My girlfriend, you know. And Kathleen, this is my mother. Anne Ross."

"Pleased to meet you," I murmured.

"Ah." She looked at me again, the same eyes as Riley's probing me effortlessly. "And you're not married…?"

"Ma." He cut her off for a moment, sighing, then looked at her. "No. We aren't."

"You never told me I was going to have a grandbaby." She smiled faintly. "When are you due?"

"February 13th." I answered quietly, forcing a smile. The air was tense and I felt Riley's arm over my shoulders.

"I see, I see…" The sound of the tea kettle whistling broke the silence, but she didn't move. Riley got to his feet, gently kissing my cheek before walking to the kitchen.

She looked at me for another seemingly endless moment before speaking.

"You're lovely, dear. You're young." She sat in the armchair beside me. "I was too. I was probably your age…" Her eyes grew wistful, and she began telling a story.

"I met Riley's father in high school. David was a good man, strong, independent, carefree. I loved him, and he loved me. Right after high school, he proposed to me and I said yes. My parents were angry, and I was pretty much disowned. But I had David. And then…" She took a deep breath, as though willing herself to continue. "He died. There was an accident one night. He was hit by a drunk driver… And I didn't find out Riley was coming until a month after. I was terrified, but I made it all work, miraculously…" She smiled now. "Riley was the most beautiful baby boy. Gifted. His father in every way…"

"Oh…" I wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm sorry about David…"

"Oh, it's alright." She paused. "Riley's terrified. He may not show it, but I can see it in his eyes. Any mother could. He loves you, I know. He loves you and your child, but he's afraid. He doubts himself, I think. He was never really totally confident."

I smiled, looking at her, feeling like I could understand her even if she was a complete stranger. Then two photos on the coffee table caught my eye. But one struck me deeply.

A man, nearly Riley's carbon copy but with green eyes, had his arm around a beautiful girl that I recognized as Anne. They were both smiling. It reminded me of Riley and myself. Young, happy… on the greatest adventure of our lives.

And when the baby suddenly kicked, I somehow had this strange feeling that everything made sense now. It all just felt... right.


	9. Comforting

**This chapter is shorter than most, but I did that purposefully. You'll see why in the next chapter. XP Just a little Nicole/Kathleen friendship moment, enjoy. :)**

**---**

_**Nicole**_

"I still can't believe this, I mean, I think I'm going to go crazy!"

I smirked, turning my head toward the speakerphone, rolling my eyes. "How would I be able to tell?"

"Oh, shut up."

I was talking to Kathleen over the speakerphone from my new loft. I looked down at the canvas in front of me, biting my tongue in concentration. I was working on a painting – if you could call it that. Abstract art was my specialty. I dipped my paintbrush into the blue, turning back to the phone for a moment.

"But you know it's true, K."

A sigh came through the speaker.

"Yeah, but seriously. I can't just sit in bed for the next month. The house will be destroyed by then, knowing Riley and the way he 'cleans' things."

I had to stifle a laugh at that. "Not my fault you chose the messy one."

"It's not my fault he's messy!" She fired back, though I could hear the teasing in her voice. I laughed.

"Oh, I know, I know…" I trailed off, working on my random painting for another moment before Kathleen spoke again.

"But I still can't believe… Bed rest. Why? It's not like I'm deathly ill!"

I rolled my eyes. "I've heard it's a killer on the back. And you know, you do get worked up quite easily…"

"I do _not!"_

"Case in point," I pointed out smugly. "I'm pretty sure your doctor doesn't want you getting into a fit and dropping little Ringo on the floor."

"For the ten-billionth time, my child will not be named Ringo. And I really don't think that'd happen."

"It's last week's incident, you know that, K" I sighed, dabbling in the red with my smaller brush.

Just a week before this, Kathleen had called in a fit of panic. Apparently there'd been false labor pains and both she and Riley had gone crazy, freaking out since they had no idea and thought it was the real thing. Come to find out this was a common occurrence and nothing was wrong. But they'd made her stay in bed. Just in case.

"I know…" There was a pause, like she was thinking real hard on something. Then a little quiet sigh and she spoke up again. "Nicole, I'm scared."

"Of…?" I questioned.

"What if I'm not a good mom?"

I nearly had to laugh at that. She'd been acting like my second mom since the second day of kindergarten, when she gave me half her lunch because I'd forgotten mine at home. She was always there fussing over me. And she was afraid she'd be bad at it.

"That's ridiculous, K. You'll be fine. I mean, you've mothered me since kindergarten."

"But this is different. _Really _different. This is my own child. Mine and Riley's, one we're responsible for. If we mess up, our kid will get messed up too."

I snorted. "Yeah, Riley's more the one you have to worry about there. He'll drop the kid on its head."

She gasped, and I guessed that I probably chose the wrong words there. I set down my paintbrush, grabbing the phone and turning the speaker off.

"Look, you know what I mean. You've got nothing to worry about. You'll both be fine."

"But what if - "

"No. You can 'what if' all you like, but I'm not buying that crap. You're my best friend, and I would never lie to you. You and Riley will be fantastic parents, don't doubt that. That kid is so lucky to have you guys." I grinned into the phone, and Kathleen squealed.

"Aww, bless you. Well, I've gotta go, Riley's going to be home any minute now."

"Alright. Don't go crazy, okay?"

"I'll do my best. Hey, could you come over tomorrow? I could use the company."

I bit my lip. "Well, Landon and I had plans tomorrow. How about Sunday?"

"That works too. Not like I have any plans." Kathleen sighed. "Ah, well, I better go. And… Nikki?"

"Yeeesss?"

"Thanks."

I grinned into the phone. "Any time."


	10. Nervous

**-slaps self- I really need to work on this whole updating thing! I'm really bad at it, aren't I? Ah, well, anyway, I hope you can stop being mad at me long enough to read the new chapter that I finally posted! :)**

**-XXX-**

_**Kathleen**_

"Are you sure I should go? I mean, I could always cancel if need me to stay…"

I sighed, laughing slightly as I shook my head.

"Riley, you and I both know you're only using that as an excuse to get out of going to give that speech because you have stage fright."

"Is it working?" He asked, half-jokingly.

"Not a chance." I smirked and he looked defeated.

"Fine…"

He sighed, readjusting his vest. I watched him, mildly amused. He looked nervous – the look had been permanently etched into his face for the past three days. Riley, Ben, and Abigail had all been invited to give a presentation, and that meant a speech. Riley didn't like giving speeches. He tried using me as an excuse not to go. But I wasn't letting it happen. I kept reminding him that if I really needed him, I would call, that there was nothing to worry about, that he really should go, it'd be a once in a lifetime chance for him.

Even though I wanted him to stay. I was now nervous too – for different reasons, though. Ever since I'd woken up that morning, something had felt a bit… off. It felt the same as the scare the week before, and the doctor had told me that the pains might come back. But it was different this time, it seemed. Sharper. It worried me, but I didn't want Riley to have a panic attack, so I acted calm, like nothing was wrong.

However, there was another twinge at that moment, and my slight grimace of pain didn't escape Riley's notice.

"Kate…" His voice was laced with warning, but I waved it off, forcing a smile.

"I'm fine. The baby's just acting up, that's all. We're okay."

"Are you _sure?_" He looked even more worried now. "I can cancel, I really can, they don't need me to…"

"Riley James Poole, you are going if I have to get out of this bed and push you out the door myself!" I half-teased. "Besides, Nicole will be here any minute. It's not like I'll be alone. You've got nothing to worry about."

He sighed, raising an eyebrow, but finally smiled at me, kissing my forehead.

"If you insist. I'll have my phone if you need me for anything." He leaned down again, kissing me tenderly on the lips and then putting a gentle hand on my swollen stomach. "Don't give your mommy too much trouble, alright?"

I smiled at him reassuringly, nodding.

"We'll be fine, sweetie. Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it." He grinned and waved at me, and I waved back, falling back onto the pillow with a groan once he'd gone. I gently rubbed my belly, resting my hand on top it, shaking my head.

"Please not today. Just stay there. Because you kinda have to stay in there for now. If you come today, your father will never forgive me."

I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling drowsy, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

-X-

I wasn't sure how long I was out, but I felt someone shaking me and then Nicole's voice.

"Kathleen?"

I opened my eyes, and Nicole was standing over me. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, getting up in an awkward sitting position and smiling.

"Oh, Nicole, hey. Did you just get here?"

"About ten minutes ago." She answered with a shrug, sitting down in the chair across from my bed and taking off her headphones. "Didn't want to wake you, but your snoring was driving me crazy."

I laughed, and she leaned closer, looking at me strangely.

"Is everything alright?" There was a hint of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, fine. Why?" I said quickly. I knew she could tell I was lying by the way her eyes narrow, but she apparently decided to ignore it.

"You just look a bit…" She shrugged, not completing the sentence, and I shrugged back. We sat in silence for a few moments.

"I wish everyone would stop making such a fuss over me."

"By everyone, you mean Riley?"

I shrugged. "More or less."

"Well, you're his girlfriend and you're 8 months pregnant. It's his _job_ to make a fuss over you, K."

I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest. "I hate when you're right."

"You do? Because me? I like it." She replied with a hint of a grin that made me crack a smile. She had a funny way of being able to make me laugh like no one else ever could. Best friend thing, you know what I mean.

Then I gasped in sharply at the pain in my belly, gritting my teeth to mask it.

"Kathleen?" Apparently she noticed too. Damn them all and their watchfulness. I shook my head in reply, but I could sense her eyes on me, looking at me knowingly. "The baby?"

I sighed, finally relenting. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's only the false pains. The doctor said they would probably come back."

"How long have you been getting them?" She was obviously trying to sound calm, but there was a note of fear in her voice.

"All day."

"You're sure they're not the real thing?"

I moved to nod, but stopped, because, truth be told, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure of much anymore. But I nodded anyway, hoping it would get her off my back.

"Don't worry, Nic. I'm okay." She narrowed her eyes again. "Really."

"If you're _sure_…" She shrugged again. "I'm going to go make a sandwich. You want anything?"

"Ah, no, I'm fine." I sat back against the pillows again as the wave of pain began to subside. She nodded, putting her headphones back on as she walked off in the general direction of the kitchen. I sighed, rubbing at my eyes again. "You're gonna get me in trouble, little one. You need to stop that."

I shook my head, nearly laughing to myself. I was talking to a baby, an unborn one, no less, that couldn't reply. Maybe this whole pregnancy thing was slowly driving me insane.

Well, whatever it was, all I knew at that moment in time was that I had to go to the bathroom. I sighed, knowing it took forever just to get up on my feet anymore. I held onto one of the bedposts and slowly moved over to the edge of the bed, carefully pushing myself up on my swollen ankles.

And then a very strange thing seemed to happen.

My leg was _wet_. My first thought was that I hadn't been able to make it to the bathroom, and that was kind of gross. And then I looked down. Of course, I couldn't actually see anything because of my huge round belly. But I just sort of _knew_. So I did the first thing that came to mind.

I screamed. Loudly.

I had no idea what to do. I started screaming Nicole's name with all the lung capacity I had, still holding myself up by the bedpost. Nicole appeared in the doorway, looking all freaked out and screaming back at me.

"What?!" She looked scared, not something I was used to seeing. And that made me panic more. I paused, the words catching in my throat as I stared at my best friend through wide, terrified eyes. And then the six words emerged from my throat in a foreign, strangled voice.

"I think my water just broke."

**-XXX-**

**Oh dear, here we go! It's almost time to meet our baby!**

**Until then, please review, thanks for reading!**


	11. Birth

**Oh my god. I am like the queen of story-update-FAIL. You probably hate me, and I don't really blame you. I have to say though, my National Treasure muse wandered very violently off-course, and (as you can probably see from my new stories) an Angels & Demons muse took its place. However, I finally managed to make them both coexist, so I wrote this update! I actually had a chapter started back in May, but I switched to a new computer and forgot to save the file, so I had to start over from scratch. That too has something to do with it, though it's more my perpetual distractedness and laziness that has kept me from updating…**

**Well, you've probably heard enough of my chatter! You're probably all anxiously waiting to meet our new little character, so read on! And I'm sorry again for any trouble my not updating might have caused!**

**---**

_**Kathleen**_

Nicole and I just sort of stared at each other for a very long minute, both of us probably looking absolutely horrified. We finally snapped out of it when Nicole started shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Wha-What do you mean your water broke?!? What does that mean?!?"

"You _know_ what that means!" I shouted back, probably the most scared I'd ever been in my entire life.

"What do we do?!"

"I… I don't know! But we have to do something!" I groaned a bit. "Why in the name of all things holy did this have to happen _now_?!"

"Because apparently that little thing has its father's sense of timing, which is horrible!" Nicole answered in a panic. "Um, do you have stuff to bring?"

"Yeah, it's in the closet." I breathed as the wave of pain and panic started subside a bit. I held onto my huge belly, straightening up my back as Nicole rushed over to the closet, letting out a little shout of shock and surprise. I'd nearly forgotten that our closet looked more like a disaster area than a place for keeping clothes. I could hear her murmuring to herself, digging around for my suitcase. "It's a blue bag," I said, attempting to help her out a bit. Finally, she emerged from the closet with wide eyes and a blue suitcase in her hands.

"If you're my friend, you'll never make me go in there again."

I gave a little bit of a laugh that didn't really sound happy at all. "Let's hope you won't, or at least not for the same purpose as this time."

She nodded vigorously, still looking a bit frightened. "Let's go then, do you need any help?"

"I can manage," I shook my head, exhaled and started half-shuffling, half waddling towards the door. She grabbed onto me anyway, holding me steady, which I was thankful for, because I most likely would've tripped over my own feet. We walked in silence for a minute until I looked at her. "Um, I'm sorry…"

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow at me, shrugging. "It's not like it's really your fault." Then she paused. "Not entirely, anyway."

We both sort of smiled awkwardly at each other, and she helped me into the back seat of her car (because there was absolutely no way in hell that I would even fit in the front anymore). I could feel another contraction on its way, so I quickly spoke up.

"I just want you to know that you should disregard anything I say in the next few hours."

She laughed a little bit and nodded while starting up her car the fastest I'd ever seen. "Just blame Riley and everything will be fine."

---

By the time we got to the hospital, got me a room, changed my clothes and got me hooked up to every necessary machine, Nicole had tried Riley's cell phone five times and gotten no answer. I pretty much assumed he had it charging in his car, like usual (of all times, Riley, of all times to be charging your freaking phone…) Her messages became more direct and more angry as they went on, so much so that almost every other word was a curse word by the last one. Of course, what else did I expect? And I suppose my screaming in the background added a nice touch.

Two hours passed, and not much seemed to happen. Of course, I was pretty much in agony, but at least Nicole was there to help me, or I would've slowly but surely gone mad. She was usually encouraging me to take my anger out on Riley, but I decided to store it for whenever he actually decided to show up. Oh, when that time came the man was going to get an earful…

I tried to eat, but I started having contractions again which pretty much made me lose my appetite. So I was in pain, out of touch with the world around me, and I was hungry. Nicole ate at least, but she looked kind of worried as me made it into our third hour.

"What the hell is taking them so long?" She asked, sounding extremely irritated now. "How long is this stupid thing they're at supposed to last?"

"Ben's speech probably lasted two hours itself." I mumbled, sighing, moving onto my side to look at her, still mumbling. "This really sucks."

"I've noticed." She mused, and I gave her a sort of glare. She smiled apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know it sucks. But it'll be over eventually, right?"

"God, I hope so." I groaned, rolling back over onto my back as my head fell into the pillows behind me. "I really really hope so."

---

**Riley**

The conference ended at nine-thirty – an hour and a half after it was supposed to. I was fidgeting the whole time, even through my speech, which earned me a few weird looks from the crowd (which basically consisted of a bunch of old historians). I kept thinking about Kathleen during the whole thing. I didn't hear a word of any other speech, and I couldn't help but be extremely distracted. I wasn't exactly stupid – I knew something was wrong, but she wanted me to go, so I went. I was probably stupid for listening to her. And I hadn't realized until the middle of Ben's speech that I left my cell phone in my car, (wow, real smooth move there) so I wouldn't have any idea if she called me or not.

At nine thirty, I was one of the first people to burst through the doors and run to my car, even though we were supposed to be the last ones to leave – maybe everything would be fine. All I had to do was check my messages. I turned on my phone, and nearly dropped it when it told me I had not one, not two, but now seven missed calls, all from Nicole's cellphone. I checked my voicemail and played the first one. I only needed to hear half of it before I nearly screamed a loud curse and dropped my phone on the pavement outside the conference hall. I ran back into the hall and grabbed my coat, knocking over a few chairs and tripping over one guy's foot in the process. Ben and Abigail were both looking at me strangely.

Abigail could only manage "Riley, what's wr-" before I answered her, probably looking like I'd just escaped from some sort of asylum.

"Kathleen's in labor, I gotta go!" And then I ran, probably the fastest I'd ever run since high school when my mom made me join the track team (not my best experience, by the way) I actually would've jumped into the car but I had the top up, so I just threw open the car door, got on, and sped down the road. It's honestly a wonder I didn't get pulled over, but I wasn't really thinking about that. I was more thinking '_OH MY GOD' _over and over again.

I made it to the hospital by about ten, and after demanding of a nurse to tell me where Kathleen was, (she looked pretty scared) I ran through the hall and located her room. I took a deep breath, trying not to throw up all over myself from panic, and opened the door. She was lying in the bed with her back to the door, apparently in the middle of a contraction because of how she was breathing. A nurse was doing something and Nicole was sitting in a chair. She looked at me, sort of glaring.

"It's about damn time!" She scolded. "We've been here almost four hours already."

"I know, I know!" I rolled my eyes setting my coat and laptop bag down on one of the chairs before tentatively approaching Kathleen's beside. She was going to be mad, I knew it. I just had to prepare myself. She rolled over onto her back, releasing a deep breath. To be perfectly honest, she looked awful. She was a mess and looked totally exhausted and out of it. Of course, I couldn't exactly blame her.

"How are you doing?"

It seemed like an innocent enough question. But she gave me the meanest look that I'd ever seen in my whole life. I winced, prepared for the worst.

"HOW AM I DOING?? I'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING CHILDBIRTH FOR THE PAST FOUR HOURS AND YOU HAVE TO ASK HOW I'M DOING?!?!"

I sighed inwardly, trying to smile reassuringly. Fron where I stood, it was going to be a very long night.

---

Now it was midnight – and Kathleen was stuck at 8 centimeters. Nothing seemed to be happening, so they'd given her something for the pain so that she could sleep. Now she was laying in bed, sleeping peacefully enough. Nicole was reading some book, and I was sitting by the side of the bed, mostly doing a lot of thinking. I just kept looking at her, and feeling really… awful, I guess. I wasn't sure that either of us was ready for this, and I felt kind of bad for putting her through all this.

"I really didn't mean for this to happen…" I rubbed at my eyes, and Nicole looked up from her book, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Well, that has a tendency to happen."

I sighed, nodding. "I guess it does." I had to agree. Nicole was sort of eyeing me. "…What?"

"You'd better take care of them both, you know that. If you don't, you can bet that I'll kick your ass without a moment's thought." I opened my mouth to reply, but she kept talking. " Because that's my best friend and her kid. And if anything happens to them, it is my God-given duty to punish whoever happens to be responsible."

"I get it." I half-snapped, suddenly very tired and very annoyed. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I was stupid, and now this is happening."

"Well, it's a bit late for second thoughts." Nicole said. I sort of glared at her, and her face actually softened a bit. She set down her book, looking straight at me. "Okay. I can't say I understand why, but Kathleen is happy with you. When we were gone, she wouldn't shut up with you. Even now, she's happy. So don't mope. Cheer up, dude. You two are a lot better together than I probably ever would've imagined. And besides, a baby can be a good thing if you want it to be."

"I guess…" I mumbled, shocked that I actually felt a little bit better. It was a random and strangely timed pep-talk, but it worked, believe it or not. I reached across, gently brushing a hair from Kathleen's face, and I think I actually smiled for the first time in hours. Maybe, just maybe, we _would_ be okay after all.

---

**Kathleen**

At about 1:30 in the morning, I was up, and I was screaming. The doctor said that was a good thing. She said it meant the baby was ready. I was so relieved, but freaked out too. I'd heard stories – this wasn't supposed to be the most pleasant thing on Earth. After one last thank you and an encouraging smile, they politely asked Nicole to leave. She argued at first, but she eventually obliged. I waved good-bye, nervous as all hell. Riley was holding my hand and murmuring reassurances, but he was so pale he was practically transparent.

Finally, it was time to start. I was scared, and I honestly don't remember much but being in a lot of pain and the doctor constantly urging me to push, which I did. She announced that she could see the head, and she asked Riley if he wanted to look, which was a bad idea. He apparently got freaked out, because the next thing I knew, I heard a muted thud. I was delivering his child, and Riley Poole was passed out on the floor beside me.

"Riley!" I pretty much screamed, incredibly upset and very annoyed. But a nurse started attending to him, and the doctor gently turned my attention back to the matter at hand. She demanded of me to push again, and I did with all the strength I could possibly muster.

And then it was finally over.

The first thing I heard was a garbled wail, and then the cries of a little baby. The doctor lifted up the baby – my baby- for me to see, and I very nearly burst into tears.

"It's a boy!" The doctor announced with a smile, laying the wet fussing little thing on a towel on my chest. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. He had a full head of dark hair, though I couldn't see his eyes because he was still crying his little lungs out, like he was incredibly ticked off. Even so, I smiled, carefully stroking his head with one finger. My arms cradled him instinctively, just a natural reaction. I very gently rocked him and murmured to him, trying to quiet him. One of the nurses took him for a moment to clean him off and wrap him up and weigh him and all the stuff they do when babies are born. In the meantime, Riley apparently came to, because I heard some indistinct muttering, and Riley asking what happened. I just sort of looked at him.

"I missed it?" He asked, sounding kind of annoyed. I nodded. I would've cried, but the nurse handed the baby back to me. He was finally quiet, but his eyes were still closed. Riley looked down at the baby and stared, his mouth hanging open.

"This is our son." I half-smiled at the wondrous look in Riley's eyes. He sort of knelt down, still looking at the baby.

"Wow." Riley finally managed. "Our… son? We have a boy?"

"Yeah." I nodded, smiling, though my eyes misted over. It was just a huge mix of emotions. I didn't know what to do, what to say. All I wanted was to hold my perfect little baby boy – it was so strange to think that little thing was all mine, mine and Riley's. But he was, and it was amazing.

---

The next afternoon, we had a few visitors. I was exhausted as all hell and slept until noon. And then I ate because I was hungry. Nicole stayed over at the hospital even though I told her she could go home and sleep. I don't think either her or Riley slept a wink all through the night. Before I fell asleep I got to see Riley holding the baby for the first time – now that was a sight I'll probably never forget. For the past nine months, Riley had done nothing but worry and kick himself over it, but the moment he held the baby, he got a huge smile on his face. It was like falling in love all over again. I knew the feeling.

Anyway, Ben and Abigail came by, and Riley's mother came by to see us too. Abigail was all over me and the baby, gushing in the way she had the whole time. I just smiled and nodded at all the appropriate moments and thanked her. Ben sort of stood back and kept his distance, but he talked to Riley for a while and it was actually a really nice day. But when Riley's mom came by, we managed to get everyone in the room together and we finally told them the baby's name.

"Nicholas David." I declared with a little smile. "Nicholas for Nicole, of course, and a nod to Ben too. And David for Riley's father." Everyone around the room sort of awed and Nicole hugged me (which is a very rare thing, as you probably know already).

I took baby Nicholas – I decided then and there I'd call him Nicky - in my arms and smiled at him. His eyes were finally open – they were blue, of course, but more like Riley's than mine. I kissed his forehead and smiled broadly.

"Nicholas Poole." Abigail smiled. "It's a good name."

And I nodded. "Yes. It's perfect."

**---**

**Sorry again for the crazy long delay! I love you all, please don't hate me! And the next update REALLY WILL come soon, I'll make it happen if I have to beat myself over the head to get it done!**

**And reviews are appreciated, of course…**


	12. Over

**I deserve a literal kick in the head for this. I really really freaking do. I am soooo terrible and I deserve to be kicked repeatedly for the utter lack of updating on this story or any story on this account in general. I really have no excuse either, except my interests changing and my getting distracted by school and other stuff like that.**

**BUT.**

**Here is an update. The penultimate chapter. (Penultimate meaning 'next-to-last. Thank you Lemony Snicket.)**

**You know what I own. You know what I don't own. If you're still reading this, I thank God for you because you're pretty patient and willing to put up with my lack of updatey-ness. **

**NOW GO READ IT.**

**---**

**One Month Later**

_**Nicole**_

It seemed to me that my loft was unusually quiet that day. I usually had music blasting from my stereo while I was working on a painting or writing something in my notebook. For some reason, I just felt like I wasn't in the mood for music (even though I was really ALWAYS in the mood for some kind of music.) I had a lot of thinking to do today. After all, it was THAT day. Our year was up. I was mostly relieved. I was going to stay, of course – Kathleen, Landon, and Nicky had all pretty much made my mind up for me there. Now what I was worrying about was explaining this to Landon.

No, I hadn't told my boyfriend of almost four months that I came here from another universe. What's wrong with that? I mean, how do you tell someone you're from another universe without fearing that they'll try to drag you off to the funny farm and break up with you? I really didn't want him to think I was crazy, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out just how to say it to him without him freaking out on me. It's not exactly great dinner conversation. _'Oh, by the way, honey, I may've forgotten to mention that I came here from some other universe because there's a glitch in the space-time continuum that somehow installed itself in my TV. Strange, huh? Can you pass the salt?'_

And after four months… I still had no plan whatsoever. I'm not a planner, I'm too spontaneous to plan. Which doesn't always turn out well, you know… I guessed I was just going to have to say it and hope for the best.

When he came over after getting off from his job, I was taking my boxes of stuff out of my storage. I hadn't taken them out, because what was the point if I was leaving? But I wasn't leaving now, so it didn't really matter anymore. I heard the door open, and Landon's voice calling for me. I set down my box of some random artwork and CDs and headed out to the main room of the loft, wiping the dust off my jeans.

"Hey, Cole." He greeted me with a kiss. He'd taken to calling me Cole, even though I made it extremely clear that I despised that nickname. I gave him a look, and he just shrugged in the way he was so good at doing, looking around the loft. "What's up with all the boxes? You're just now moving in your stuff?"

"Yeah, looks that way, doesn't it?" I said lamely, suddenly extremely interested in dusting off one of the light fixtures up on my wall. Dammit, why was this so hard? Why couldn't I just say it? I had to stop being such a chicken.

"What's the matter? You're not acting like yourself." He seemed concerned.

"How am I not acting like myself?" I asked him, the picture of innocence. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're dusting. You don't dust. You've never dusted."

I sighed and turned back to face him, fidgeting for a moment.

"You should sit down." He looked at me, vaguely confused, before he seemed to sense that I was serious. Then he looked almost… frightened. Not that I blamed him, really. Usually, when someone tells you that, the news that follows is the bad kind. I ran my fingers through my hair, pacing a little, trying to think of what to say as Landon settled down on the couch. I knew he could tell something was wrong.

Finally, after a few moments' hesitation, I looked at him, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Landon, I'm not from here."

"Well, I sort of knew that… You're not from this area, you mean?" Back to confused again. He didn't get it? I shook my head.

"No, I mean, I'm not from this place." I sighed a little, then plucked up the courage I had obviously dropped somewhere. "I came here from _another universe_."

Now he just looked quite blank. I expected him to laugh at me, think I was joking around, or call me crazy, or freak out and leave. He did none of those. He just looked at me without any hint as to what he was thinking on his face. Finally he shifted on the couch a little, his eyes widening. "Really?"

"Yeah." For some reason, I laughed a bit awkwardly. "I know it sounds really crazy, but Kathleen and I, we ended up getting sucked into movies through this random magical portal in my TV that I still have no idea what the hell it is, and we can't get out until the movie is over, and this time we actually got an offer from some freaky guardian angel to go home or stay here after a year, but since I met you and Kathleen and Riley had a baby, we both decided to just stay here, and that angel guy is actually coming today to see if we're staying or going…" That was probably the longest run-on sentence I'd ever used in my entire life. I don't remember if I even breathed through that whole thing, and the words just sort of rushed out. I waited for what felt like an eternity for Landon to just _say something._

Finally, he looked at me with a sort of grin, and I wondered what he meant by it. "That actually makes sense to me. It definitely explains your obsession with painting random psychedelic televisions."

I was so relieved, I actually laughed at that. "You mean you don't think I'm crazy?"

"Nah. I mean, you don't exactly hear stuff like that every day, but… I believe you. Call me crazy for it, but I do."

I grinned out of relief, and wanted to kiss him. "Thank you. I was afraid you'd think I was a lunatic!"

"No… Not anymore than usual, anyway." And that was Landon for you. I rolled my eyes, barely resisting the urge to smack him in the arm. He just grinned at me, and hugged me. "You know you love me, Cole." Okay, calling me Cole AND hugging me? At the SAME TIME? He obviously had a death wish.

"Yeah, yeah…" I pulled myself out of the hug and checked my watch. "Well, looks like it's just about time to go meet the creepy guardian angel guy." I stood up. "Care to join me?"

Immediately he got to his feet and grinned. "To meet an angel and see my girlfriend officially become part of a different universe? Hell yes."

----

_**Kathleen**_

A smile crossed my lips as I set Nicky down in his carrier on the floor of Ben and Abby's place. My little baby boy contented himself with staring up at the living room's ceiling fan as it spun. I laughed to see him so fascinated with it.

So today was the big day. _The_ day. I sighed, brushing a little bit of hair from my face. Of course I was staying, for Riley and our son… But I couldn't help but remind myself that I was officially cutting myself off from that other place, like I never existed. I'd never see my parents again, my sisters, my other friends… Tears welled beneath the surface but I held them back. Any minute now Nicole would be showing up, and we'd be ending this whole thing once and for all. At least we would still be together. I couldn't stand for her to leave me here by myself. We'd been through this whole thing, the two of us. She was the only one who really understood me inside and out. Not even Riley knew me so well, and I was going to marry him soon.

I couldn't bring myself to move when I heard Nicole's car pulling up the drive, and even when the door opened. I heard her and Landon talking as they came inside. Nicole never knocked – she didn't need to, she'd somehow managed to get a house key here, though I'd never quit figured out how. I wasn't going to ask though. It was probably best not to ask questions like that, I probably didn't want to hear the answer.

"Kathleen?" I finally heard her call, and I twisted around from my position on the couch.

"I'm in the living room!" I called back before turning back to Nicky, who was now bored with the fan and just looking blankly around the room.

"Hey!" She greeted me, flopping down on the couch in casual Nicole manner with no preamble whatsoever. I rolled my eyes and she laughed before spotting Nicky on the floor. She beamed. "Well, hey, there's my little nephew-namesake!" Though she wouldn't ever admit it to me, she was clearly smitten with that kid. They were like two peas in a pod – fitting then, that I'd named him after her. "So, you ready?"

I shrugged, combing through my hair with my fingers. "Pretty much. Ready as I'll ever be, anyway." She smiled and shrugged.

"It won't be so hard, I promise. I'll make sure you're sure that it's the best decision you've ever made in your life."

"I'll hold you to that." I smirked a bit, looking up suddenly as the trio appeared in the doorway. So, we were all here… Except for that ridiculous angel guy. He really was taking his time today. We all sat around awkwardly, not saying much to one another.

I didn't keep track of how much time passed, but suddenly out of the middle of nowhere, the front door blew open, and in swept our angel, looking rather harried, his hair wind-tossed. Everyone, myself included, stared at him, and he gave a meek shrug.

"Sorry, I know I'm late. Been doing this for hundreds of years and I'm still not good at the transportation thing." He clapped his hands together, inviting himself to sit in one of Ben and Abby's armchairs. "So, introductions?"

"…Right." I glanced at Nicole, then looked around the room. "Okay… That's Landon… Ben and Abigail… And that's Riley."

"And everybody, that's our creepy guardian angel guy in case you didn't figure that out," Nicole added in. Everyone nodded.

"I have a name!" The guy exclaimed. "Though, to be honest, if I had to say it, your ears might explode, so I would advi-" And suddenly he stopped short, his eyes fixing on something right in the center of the room. My son. He stared for a long while, his face slowly appearing to grow repulsed, like he was giant bug instead of a baby. "What is _that_?!"

"_That_ is my son!" I stated sharply, staring the guy down. He jumped out of his chair, still staring.

"But…" He looked up at Riley. "You're the kid's father?"

"Yeah…" Riley looked a little bit uneasy at the sudden interrogation. The angel paced the floor, looking rather distressed.

"This is bad… This is _really _bad." He blinked. "That's… Do you even realize what you've done?! I'm going to be in some serious trouble…" No one really seemed to be sure what he was talking about. "That's a cross-universe baby. That's supposed to be… impossible. Hybrids… It's a danger to the whole fabric of time and space!" He spluttered frantically. I stared now.

"What? How's he a danger? My son? He's just a baby!"

"It breaks _all_ the rules! I can't even get _rid_ of it now!" He looked distressed, like he was about to vomit or something. I really didn't know what he was talking about, but he was getting very red in the face and I wanted to smack him. How could a baby be a danger to time and space? I blinked, and then was on the other side of the room, grabbing Nicky out of his carrier before I could stop myself. I felt all eyes on me but I just glared at the angel who still looked sick.

"I think our decision is clear," I stated to him. He looked furious, and I had to admit it made me feel rather smug to see that look on his face. Yeah, I was standing up to someone who controlled time and space. That made me feel powerful.

"Okay… If you're sure. But whatever happens, don't blame me. You could end up in serious trouble someday." He looked warily at me and at Nicky. He reached out as if to touch Nicky, and I instinctively flinched away, giving him the meanest look I've probably ever given anyone.

"Don't _even_ think about it."

He smirked and shrugged. "Fine then. Staying here – that's your final answer?" He quipped, his eyes flicking from me to Nicole. I nodded.

"You bet your ass that's our final answer." She smirked back, flicking her hair. The angel-guy shrugged again and then randomly vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

There was a long, awkward pause where everyone looked at each other. Even Nicky seemed confused.

"That's… it?" Abigail finally spoke up, looking really out of it. I shrugged, gingerly setting Nicky back in his carrier.

"Yeah… I guess that's it." I sat back down on the couch, glancing between all the faces before letting out a long breath. "It's really over."

----

That night was cool and quiet. I sat at the window seat of my bedroom, shivering, before I felt someone wrap a blanket around my shoulders. I smiled at Riley as he sat down across from me, amusement playing in his eyes. Strangely, even though I was a mother and everything, I just felt like a teenager tonight. A homesick teenager. After all, I was still 19, kind of caught in the in-between of childhood and adulthood. As if that wasn't tricky enough, I'd had to balance kidnappings, shootings, magic rips in the space-time continuum, really creepy angels, inter-universal travel, and a baby in with it. Wow, my life was weird. It never quite would be the same, of course. But it would still be a pretty good one… as lives go.

"Hey," I greeted quietly, but with a smile.

"Hey." Riley responded. "He's finally gone off to sleep, I think."

"Mm, that's good…" I crawled awkwardly across the window seat, resting my head against Riley's shoulder, one of his hands lightly stroking my hair. "We have a very strange life together, don't we? With everything that's happened, I'm surprised we haven't gone psycho."

"Who says we haven't?" Riley chuckled softly and I had to laugh as well, realizing he made a great point. I felt my eyes pulling closed, and pretty soon I was damn near dozing when I heard Riley speak my name. My eyes opened again and I looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?" He asked me gently.

"Shoot." I mumbled into his chest, nodding. He was quiet for a while, gazing out the window at the moonlight sky, before he looked back in my eyes, just barely smiling.

"Marry me?" He asked quietly. He opened up his palm to reveal a tiny silver ring with a glinting diamond set in it. I looked at him, my mouth agape, seeing in those blue eyes that looked back at me something I almost didn't recognize – promise. Promise for the years ahead.

Our years. At that thought I smiled. And there was only one word I need to get my point across.

"Yes..."

**---**

**And there you go! Aww! XP**

**Can I has reviews? Please?**


	13. Wedding

**Blah. Here's the first update in what... 8 months now? XP If I thought I failed at updating before...**

**There will be a part two sort of thing to this. Just because. I have more but it's not done yet. Yess I know what you're saying. "BUT YOU HAD EIGHT MONTHS TO FINISH IT." Well, for that I blame myself getting distracted away from the National Treasure fandom and thus this story almost completely. (Darn those catchy little Broadway musicals!) I know I say this everytime but I swear on Riley's soul I'll have something up SOON! S-O-O-N! That means not waiting 8 months. XP If any of you still actually care enough to read this... I love you a load.**

**This is uploaded especially for Kirsten. Who has been amazingly and annoyingly persistent in reminding me to update this story. XP**

**I own nothing!  
**

**Nicole**

Why is it that I always get to the one stuck babysitting at these types of things? Now, don't get me wrong, I love our little Ringo just as much as any honorary aunt in her proper mind would, but he can be a hassle sometimes. I think he got that from his father. Especially when he's two years old and seems to enjoy playing the game 'Let's frustrate Nicole by running away from her and hiding when she turns her back for ten seconds'. I hear it's nearly as fun as 'Let's see how many times I can throw this on the ground before the adult I'm playing with gets tired of picking it back up'. And of course, chasing two-year olds is nearly impossible for me when I'm in a dress.

It is an all around well-known fact that I have always detested dresses – they're just too girly and feminine and not my style. But this one time, I'm relenting. After all, it is Kathleen's wedding, and she asked me to. It's a good thing she picked a long one for me, so she's oblivious to the fact that I'm wearing my converse under this dress. She probably wouldn't mind much even if she did know – she's never been TOO uptight… But then, maybe _never_ is a strong adjective. But she's probably too busy being gooey with Riley to care. Ew.

Well, anyway. While she was doing whatever the hell she was doing with her new husband, I was chasing their son around, trying to keep him from hitting his head, breaking something, or otherwise maiming himself and/or the objects around him. Really, why couldn't someone else do this? Abigail? Patrick and Emily? But of course, she had to hold the 'I've done so many things for you and never asked for anything back' card over my head. Yeah, right. But I'm a good best friend, so I agreed to do it. He did look dashing in that little tux…

"Okay, little monster, where are you?" I breathed to myself, looking under chairs and tables. After some time of this, I spotted him 'hiding' under a table, hoping I wouldn't notice. Catching a kid is an entire skill in itself. You have to be able to sneak up behind him without alerting him to your presence, which I had learned to do quite well. And since I didn't have heels on, I could move pretty quietly, if my dress didn't give me away. With all the stealth and skills of a ninja, I crept up as close to the child as possible without making noise and grabbed from behind, causing him to emit an ear-piercing shriek that I'm sure people could hear in Maryland if they listened closely. Hardly anyone seemed to notice though – it was loud in here, since a lot of people were talking and music was playing and it was just generally noisy.

"Nikki!" Ah, I just couldn't resist that laughter. How could he be so frustrating but so adorable? It's a talent, I guess. That was going to come in handy for later. After all, I'd already elected him to be my right-hand man in messing with his parents once he got older. He'd be good at it, too, I could tell. I hoisted the kid up in my arms (which was a difficult task, as he wasn't the tiny kid he used to be) and gave him the sternest look I could manage.

"You gotta stop running away from me, Ringo. I'm supposed to be watching you, and I can't do that very good if you keep running off everywhere. You got me."

"Gotchu." He nodded, though his expression told me otherwise. He gave me his little impish grin and I sighed a little before setting him down, taking a firm grasp of his hand.

"Let's go find your toys, drummer man."

And I was _just _about to walk away with him too, when I felt a pair of arms suddenly around my waist, scaring the crap out of me. This caused me to jump, releasing the child's hand, which in turn made him run off through the crowd. I growled a little – so close! – and turned around.

"Landon! What are you _doing_?" I could've screamed at him as I whirled to face him. I did love the man, but really, his good-timing radar was obviously broken because he always seemed to pick the most inopportune moments to decide to spend quality time with me.

"I haven't been able to see you for more than five minutes all day!" He answered in reply, moving to kiss me, though I stubbornly ducked away from him, trying to push him off me. When my hand moved onto his chest, my engagement ring caught the light, catching my attention momentarily. Yes, I was engaged – I'd finally said yes, after refusing at least 3 of Landon's impromptu proposals. He seemed to like blurting 'Will you marry me?' into the blue and I'd always respond with 'Ask me later'. That is, until I finally said yes when he pulled a ring out during our vacation – we were in the middle of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and my attention was captured by a ton of Beatles memorabilia. What can I say? My man knows me.

"I know, because I've been chasing Nicky all day… And now he's gotten away again and he's gonna get hurt and Kathleen's gonna kill me…" I finally managed to push him off me, drawing the classic puppy dog face from him. I sighed, trying to stay resilient to that face. He always pulled that face, and I always crumbled. Defeated, I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm sorry babe, I'll see if I can get Abby to…"

At that point, I'd turned around, just in time to see Nicky approaching the table where the three-level chocolate cake was standing, his arm outstretched. My muscles reacted off instinct and premonition, and I was running towards him…

And I got there just a second too late.

Just as I reached the kid and was about to pull him back, he'd given the tablecloth a hard yank, and the cake had teetered dangerously.

"No!" I began some futile attempt to keep the cake from falling, but it wasn't near good enough. With a splat, the cake fell right on top of me and the two year old. The next thing I was aware of was the deathly silence, and the sticky feeling of frosting and cake on my arms, in my hair (which had taken me a good hour to get right!) and on my face… Oh god, that was the weirdest thing I'd felt in a long time…

For a minute, I was afraid Nicky was going to start bawling… Until I heard his shrieks of delight. Some strange thing in the child found this to be incredibly entertaining. And then I heard the movement. Shoes on the tile, and two voice went up at once, which I identified as Kathleen and Riley's.

"My baby!"

"My cake!"

I sat there, stewing a moment, trying to wipe some of the chocolate off my face… Absolutely unable to help myself, I licked my finger. Well, it _would have been _a good cake, had it not hit the floor. I heard the rustle of fabric, Kathleen coming over to get a hold of her chocolate-coated son.

"Thanks for your concern." I stated drily, looking between Kathleen and Riley. Neither of them looked particularly happy with me… Until Nicky started laughing again, smashing his little cakey hand into his mother's face. A smirk found its way to my lips at the sight of Kathleen's perfect white dress getting covered in frosting. I wasn't meaning to be cruel, but it was just a funny sight.

"So much for the perfect fairytale, huh?" I looked at Kathleen, who rose her eyebrows at me, and then at Ringo… In spite of myself, I laughed ridiculously hard. Gathering some of the ruined cake in my hand, I formed it into a ball, fixing Riley with a wicked grin. His eyes widened.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would." And I did. The frosting ball made contact with his face, much to my satisfaction. He stood there, a little bit in shock. And then, unexpectedly, I heard more laughter from behind me. Kathleen was laughing. Seriously? I expected her to be in tears, crying over how her wedding was ruined and how I was making entertainment out of it. But instead she was standing there, laughing her ass off with Nicky.

"Oh God… You look ridiculous, Nicole." She grinned, and then I felt some cake pelt the back of my head. I turned, and Riley was grinning mischievously at me, in that clearly Riley fashion. I grinned back, picking up a little more cake.

"Alright… This means war." And the chocolate hit his white shirt, which was, thankfully, part of his own tux and not a rented one. "Welcome to the family, Mr Poole."

And before I knew it, a lot of people (well, the ones with a sense of humor who weren't wearing rented clothes) were involved in a cake war, destroying the dining hall and our clothes. I don't imagine it was how Kathleen had ever imagined her wedding turning out, but it was still entertaining. At least it made for great memories. And wedding photos. One of which is still in a frame in my house. It's of myself, Riley, Kathleen, and Landon, chocolate-coated and looking like we just had the time of our lives, which I think we did. And right next to it is a similar photo. Two girls dancing together. One of them is in a white dress, her hair tumbling down, dress and face smudged with chocolate, and laughing. The other looks similar, only her dress is a turquoise colour, and if you look close, you can see a pair of bright red Converse shoes peeking out from underneath as they spin around and laugh together.

**And yeah. Thats what I have so far. Reviews, plz? You can even let me know what a bad, bad author I've been for not updating! I deserve to be chided for that! XP  
**


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